Dirty Work
by Hoshigaki Sayuri
Summary: The United Nations still holds a grudge against the Cahill family for what they've done to the world through the hunt for the 39 Clues. Now, it's time for some payback.  Some crack. Certain pairings hinted.
1. Austria Complains

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books(_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks ○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p><strong>| After the second book: <em>One False Note<em> |**

"This is the last straw!" a bespectacled Austrian man shouted, standing up and slamming both hands onto the table before him. "I've had it with them!"

The whole room was silenced by his sudden actions. Everyone took their sweet time to say anything. Well, except for a certain Prussian.

"Woah, cool it, Roddy," Gilbert told Roderich with a lax tone. "Remember...your blood pressure~" he teasingly said.

His jolliness was quickly ended by a frying pan to the face. A fuming Hungarian was unfortunately seating near him, and she managed to give him another painful blow with her trusted kitchen utensil.

"Be quiet while Roderich's speaking, you nitwit!" Elizaveta yelled into his ear.

Chaos had yet struck again in the European Union meeting. But, as always, there was the one person who never failed to cease the fray.

"_VERDAMMT_! WILL THE THREE OF YOU PLEASE STOP IT!"

Elizaveta and Gilbert shut their mouths as soon as they heard Ludwig scream. He was standing up and glaring at them with a glare as cold as ice.

"Now, both of you settle down." His tone was stern and dark.

Gilbert straightened up while Elizaveta rushed back to her seat beside Roderich.

"Erm..._Danke_, Ludwig," Roderich thanked his close German companion.

Roderich was the host of the meeting; he was seated at the very end of the long table. Most of the EU had come to the meeting, and he was very pleased about it. Yet the current emotion he was feeling wasn't anywhere near a kind of satisfaction. It was pure, blinding rage with a hint of disappointment.

"Everyone, I am truly sorry if I interrupted into your daily lives with this emergency meeting," he began.

Gilbert cut in, just to annoy their host. "Actually, you did — "

He failed to finish his statement due the frying pan suddenly flung at him.

Roderich coughed. "Ahem, as I was saying...I've called you to this emergency meeting so we can discuss a very important matter." He took a deep breath and darkly said, "The hunt for the 39 Clues."

No one spoke for a few moments after the host country said that. Roderich decided to continue.

"As we all know, the Cahill family is the very reason for this hunt. And this particular hunt has been going on for more than half of a millennium already. Their family feud has splattered blood across the pages of history, and I had just enough of it! Look at what they had done to Mozart's home! It is completely unacceptable!"

"...it's not like there's anything we can do about it."

All heads turned to a lone British man sitting at the other end of the table. His elbows were propped onto the table as he rested his chin on his entwined fingers. Arthur Kirkland had his eyes closed, and he wore an expression of deep solemnity.

"What..." The Austrian's brows furrowed. "How would you know a thing about it, Kirkland?"

"Well, for one..." Arthur opened his eyes, revealing a pair of emerald green orbs shooting daggers at Roderich. "...the Cahill roots all trace back to me."

"What are you..." Roderich paused in disbelief until he recalled an important fact. "Ah, yes. I remember now. I remember it perfectly."

He stepped away from his chair and slowly made his way down the long table. Once he reached Arthur's place, he stood beside the British man and was facing the long window behind Arthur. Light spilled into the dark room from that one, opened window.

Roderich folded his arms across his chest and stared out the window. "Gideon Cahill, his wife, and his children all originated from Ireland. If I am not mistaken, Ireland is under you, isn't it Arthur?"

The British man smirked. "A true fact, that is, Roderich."

"Then, you wouldn't mind telling me"— Roderich turned away from the bright window — "and all the people in this room" — he motioned to the other countries — "what kind of _monstrosity_ have your people befallen onto the Earth for the past five hundred years?" Roderich asked, raising his voice at the very end.

Not a word was said. Neither by the other members of the EU nor by Arthur.

Later, he spoke up. "I cannot fully and elaborately explain the chaos my people had dealt to the world. But I can say this..." Arthur stood up and faced Roderich, putting their faces inches away from the other. "I have no full control over the actions of my people just as much as you do."

"Then what — " the Austrian tried to say before he was cut off by the Brit.

"You are in no position to complain about the Hunt's casualties for you are not the only one that has been affected."

Arthur gripped his chest as images from his past flashed before him. "I still bear the large scar I gained from the four-day fire in 1661. That, Roderich, was caused by the Cahill family. _My_ family."

Roderich had nothing more to say. He was at a complete loss for words after listening to Arthur's counter-argument.

The Austrian sighed heavily. "This meeting has come to an end."

* * *

><p>So...how was it? I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll be posting the next anytime soon.<p>

P.S. I am not hinting any AustriaxUK here. Sorry to disappoint any fangirls who read this.


	2. Grand Theft: New York

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books(_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_) _of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>"Damn this American traffic!" Denmark complained in the backseat of their black Audi A3 while Sweden was in the driver's seat, blowing the horn with a blank, yet deadly, expression.<p>

"Ah...the traffic here in New York is rather heavy," Finland said in the seat beside Sweden. He turned his head from left to right, seeing cars and trucks and motorcycles everywhere.

"If we don't make it out of this traffic soon," Norway began, "we'll be awfully late."

The Norge turned to Denmark, who had stuck half his body out the window when Norway wasn't looking.

"C'MON, YOU YANKEE-DOODLES!" the Dane yelled at the cars in front of them, madly shaking his fist in the air. "I'VE SEEN SMOOTHER STREETS DURING BRAZIL'S _CARNIVALE_!"

"Get back in here, you twit!"

Norway grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back into the car. He quickly closed the window, then shot daggers at Denmark.

"What?" The Dane cocked an eyebrow at him. "We're in a hurry, aren't we?"

Norway facepalm-ed. "You imbecile...we're just as desperate as every other person stuck in this mess."

"Hm, not that guy," Iceland spoke up, pointing to the driver's seat of a neighboring minivan. "He's even reading a Playboy magazine while eating a hotdog."

Finland and Norway stared at him. Denmark let out a loud groan as he clutched his stomach.

"Great! Now I'm hungry, too!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Da dan da da da dan daaaaannn...DAAAAN-MAAAAAAARK!<em>"

"Ugh! Nellie!"

Amy took the headset off their screaming, rock music-loving _au pair_, leaving Nellie with a scandalized look.

"Aw man!" she whined. "Not cool, kiddo."

Amy frowned at her. "C'mon, Nellie. I'm not the only one who's disturbed by your ear-piercing shrieks." She cocked her head at the rest of the costumers in the music shop, all of them glaring at Nellie.

"Ehehe...sorry folks!" Nellie apologized as she rubbed the back of head with her hand.

As soon as she said it, everyone went back to their own business. Until a certain boy was yelling out in German, that is.

"_D-A-N-M-A-R-K!D-A-N-M-A-R-K!_"

Dan looked like he was in the zone. He was banging his head to the loud rock music shooting out the headphones. It didn't even take his older sister a few strides across the room to swipe the headphones away from him as well.

"What the heck — AMY!"

"You're an embarrassment!"

"I thought I was a dweeb..."

"Then, you're BOTH!"

Just as Dan was ready to bombard her with the best insults he's got, the shop's owner came storming their way.

"OUT! All three of you! OUT OF MY SHOP!"

Then, all of the them got kicked out of the music shop. Literally.

"Owowow...that guy hurt my butt real hard, alright!" Dan moaned as he rubbed his backside.

"Thanks a lot, you two!" Amy spat at them. "Now where else am I supposed to buy that CD?"

"Hey, hey! You're not the only who's lost something, kiddo!" Nellie told her. "I had my eyes on that Nephew album until Mr. You-Can't-Sing-Your-Heart-Out-To-Awesome-Danish-Songs-In-My-Shop kicked us out!"

The two began to argue, then Dan decided to pop in between them.

"Can I buy a hotdog?"

"NO!" both girls yelled at him.

So, Dan sulked in a corner while Amy and Nellie yelled at each other.

Just then, a man came running past them. It was only a matter of time til they noticed what happened.

"MY BAG!" Nellie cried out. "I had my ipod in there!"

"STOP! THIEF!" Dan screamed at the robber and sprinted with no other thought in his mind but to catch him.

"Dan! Wait!" Amy joined in the screaming fest, running beside Nellie and tailing Dan and the thief.

"We have to get it back!" Nellie said between pants. "All our shopping money's in there, remember?"

"_KOM UD AF VEJEN! _GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Amy and Nellie dodged of what were three blond men running in the same direction as them. Two of them were very tall, and the shortest one particularly had a strange green aura surrounding him.

The two ladies watched the three men, Dan, and the thief vanish into the crowd of New Yorkers.

"Who in the — "

"_Ole varovainen, te kolme!_" a man yelled out from behind them. "Be careful, you three!"

"Eh..?" Amy turned around to see two other men standing behind her and Nellie. The man who just screamed wore a worried look on his face while his partner stared blankly ahead.

"Come on, Nièl!" the worried one said, grabbing the other by the wrist and dashing into the large throng of Americans.

Just as Nellie and Amy also ran after them, Amy noticed a black and white bird flying past her and perching itself atop one of the men's heads.

* * *

><p>Dan was slowing down. He came to a stop, doubling over to catch his breath. "Man, that guy is fast!"<p>

He then felt someone pat his head. "Don't worry, little dude! We'll catch his for ya!"

When he lifted his head to see the person who patted his head, the man had already ran away with two other men.

"Who...are those guys...?" Dan talked to himself. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and continued the chase.

"Gimme a hand, _Sve_!" Mathias told Berwald, who responded by running ahead. Sweden turned back to Denmark, crouched his back, and lowered his arms. He cupped his hands and gave the Dane an assuring nod.

Denmark ran faster. Once he got to Berwald, he stepped on the Swede's cupped hands. Sweden gave him a strong heave and catapulted Mathias into the air.

The Dane sailed through the Big Apple's heavily polluted air, missing the fresh air back home, and later landed in front of the man who stole Nellie's bag. Mathias gave the robber a devilish smile as he defiantly held his clenched fist in front of the quivering man's face.

"Tsk, tsk," Mathias said while he shook his head and wagged a finger at the thief. "Don't you know better than to steal from a lady?"

"Tch!" The thief stepped back, only to bump into Berwald who was giving him a death glare.

"Pl's r'turn the b'g," Sweden said in a dark tone.

After letting out a girlish yelp, the robber retreated from Berwald and hung onto the bag. "A-and what's makes you two bozos think I'll just hand this ove — WOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAH!"

The thief was suddenly surrounded by a sick-green aura and lifted into the air. Back on the ground, Mathias was grinning at Norway.

"_Vej at gå!_" he said. "Way to go, _Norge_!"

Arvid looked at Mathias for a second, then back to the thief. He made the thief spin like a top and vigorously shaken until dozens on jewelry and coins landed on the sidewalk.

"Alright, alright! I'll give it back!" the thief screamed. "Just please make it stop! Please!"

The Scandinavian trio didn't realize until much later that a crowd was forming around them and laughing and gasping at the floating, pseudo-tortured robber. Along with plain New Yorkers were also some policemen.

"You better let him down now, _Norge_," Mathias whispered into Arvid's ear. He pointed at the incoming cops and continued. "The scene isn't looking very pretty, if you know what I mean."

Arvid stared at the Dane for a moment, and turned to the levitating robber. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, causing the thief to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Denmark approached him and snatched the bag from the thief. "We'll be taking this back now~!"

As he walked back to Norway and Sweden, Finland and Iceland had managed to catch up to them; and they brought along three other people.

"I think this belongs to you, ma'am," Mathias said as he handed the bag to Nellie, who stared back at him in disbelief. "H-hey, don't stare at me like that!"

While Amy and Nellie were gaping at what just happened, Dan was naturally taking this in a different scope.

"That. Was. So. COOL!" he cheered, fired up with energy and unable to keep still. "How did you guys do that? Especially the part where you lifted the guy into the air!"

"Er...um..." Denmark looked at Norway, hoping to make a good excuse. The Norge just raised his shoulders in submission.

"Well, you see...ah...Arvid here is...um, a...wizard."

"A what — ?" everyone else said in unison.

Arvid stomped on Mathias's foot. "You imbecile!" he said through gritted teeth.

As if Norway didn't even place a finger on him, Denmark had a silly grin on his face. "Well, a more suitable word would be 'street magician' or perhaps...a 'mindfreak'...?"

Norway punched him hard in the stomach. "Idiot! You've just made it worse!"

Denmark doubled over, rubbing his gut. "Ow...you sure can pack a punch, Arv!" he exclaimed gleefully.

Berwald sighed heavily and facepalm-ed. "'S a wonder how I w's serv'n' 'nder y' a long time 'go..."

Meanwhile, Amy and Dan were watching the policemen wrangle up the thief and collect the stolen goods.

"Thanks for getting my bag back," Nellie told the Arvid, Mathias, and Berwald. "That guy was pretty fast..."

Denmark laughed defiantly. "No problem, ma'am!"

"Something had to be done," Norway said, crossing his arms and looking the other way.

Sweden grumbled and nodded.

Finland tugged on his sleeve and looked at him with worried eyes. "Berwald, y-you're not hurt...are you?"

Berwald shook his head; the Finn sighed in relief.

"Hey!" Mathias cried. "What about _Norge_ and I? Aren't you worried about us, too?"

"I don't think Tino needs to worry about two ex-Vikings..." Iceland said.

"But weren't you also a Viking, _Sve_?"

"Hm," Sweden grumbled, not looking at Denmark.

"Vikings...?"

The Nordic Five turned to Amy and Dan staring at them.

"Weren't the Vikings killed off...?" Dan asked them.

"...like, hundreds of years ago?"Amy continued his question.

"A-ah..." Iceland stuttered. "Well..."

"What we meant by 'vikings'" Mathias swooped to save him, "is that Arv, Waldy, and I used to be in a football team back in Scandinavia!"

"WHAT?" the others exclaimed.

"Waldy — ?" Berwald screamed. At the corner of his eye, he could see Tino holding back a laugh.

"The Fearsome Vikings, we were!" Denmark said proudly, raising his chin and thumping his chest with a fist. "Stern and strong, unafraid of anything! Anything, I say!"

Thus, the next five minutes were spent with Norway and Sweden beating up Denmark while Iceland and Finland holding them back. Once they settled down, Norway whispered into Denmark's ear so that the Cahills and Nellie wouldn't hear them.

"You suck at making excuses."

"Terrible," Iceland interjected in a soft voice. "Absolutely horrid."

"Eh, we're always like this, you see..." Tino told Amy, Dan, and Nellie. "Our little family."

"Dysfunctional family, eh?" Nellie said, smiling and raising an eyebrow. She glanced at Dan and Amy, who bore silly grins and awkward faces.

"If you call us dysfunctional" Mathias said out loud, "you should see Yao's family!"

* * *

><p>"So...is there any we can repay you guys?" Nellie asked the Nordic Five.<p>

"Eh?" four of the blonds said.

"Well, you can come with us to the World Summit — " Mathias began, but was cut off when Arvid hit him in the back of the head.

Dan cocked his head to the side. "World Summit? You mean that big meeting where lots of countries' leaders go to?"

"The very one!" Denmark said, beaming.

"When is it?" Dan asked them.

"A-ah, you see..." Mathias stammered and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's in a few hours," Norway spoke up. "In London."

"Artie's vital regions!" Denmark laughed.

"London — ?" "Vital regions — ?" the three Madrigals screamed at the same time.

"Excuse us for a moment, please!"

Amy grabbed Dan's and Nellie's wrists and quickly huddled them up in a corner.

"These guys are insane!" she said in a hushed, but panicked, voice. "How can they expect us to go with them to the World Summit? That's gotta be a really important meeting!"

"But Amy, it's in London!" Nellie told her. "Think about the awesome British punk music!"

"No. Haven't you learned anything from our last visit there?"

"Oh..."

"Amy," Dan said suddenly in a somewhat serious voice, "think about the history and all the boring stuff you could learn from London. And if I remember correctly, we didn't spend that much time going sight-seeing there."

There was a large lump in Amy's throat. She swallowed hard, then gave in. "W-well...oh, fine."

The three approached the Nordic Five, with Nellie telling them their decision.

"But...can we really trust them?" Amy whispered into Dan's ear.

"They helped us out right? And look at this deliciously warm hotdog Mathias bought me!" He took a huge bite off it; Amy threw him a look of utter disgust.

She couldn't figure out what he told her next, but then he swallowed the food and repeated what he said. "I can definitely trust someone like him!"

* * *

><p>"Finally! An update!" is what most of you guys must be saying right now. xDDD I wrote this while I had nothing to do at work (stupid summer job! *headdesk*). I hope you liked it! C:<p> 


	3. There Was Pot In My Beer!

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books of the 39 Clues (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising, _respectively), not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>The eldest Holt child was having a good rest until his two sisters barged into his room, banging on pots and pans and screaming like tortured pelicans.<p>

"WAKE UP, HAMILTON!"

"RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPING BEAUTY!"

He shot up, with wild eyes and bed hair. "WHAT THE HECK — ?"

"Dad told us to wake you up," Madison said, stopping banging a ladle into the stew pot she held. "We've got intense training today!"

Reagan clashed the two pot lids she had once more before noticing the death glare her brother was giving her. "Er, sorry..."

Hamilton first got his siblings out of his room, then he took a bath and got into his purple track suit. He went down the stairs, jumping down four steps at a time. Hamilton ran down the hall and skidded to a halt once he got into the kitchen. He'd been smelling the sweet scent of his mother's bacon and eggs all the way from the end of the hall, and his stomach was rallying to get it down his throat pronto.

The two girls were already helping themselves to breakfast at the dining table while Mary-Todd was cooking up another batch of bacon at the stove. Eisenhower Holt, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found.

"Good morning, Hammy," his mother said endearingly making Madison and Reagan snicker. "Sit down with your sisters. The next batch is almost done!"

Hamilton sat at the dining table, right across the two girls. "Mom, where's Dad?"

Mary-Todd emptied the frying pan and placed seven strips of bacon on a plate. "Your father's outside. He's packing up some stuff for our trip today."

"Hm..." Hamilton drank some of the orange juice from his glass. "Where are we gonna be training this time?"

"Dad says it's a surprise," Reagan told him, then taking a bite off her bacon.

The three heard a laugh from the kitchen. "Heck, even I don't know," Mary-Todd said.

"Dad, where are we going?" was what the Holt children kept asking Eisenhower Holt through most of the journey. Even his wife couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"If we're heading for Texas — "

"But aren't we banned from Texas?"

"Yeah!"

"If nobody shuts up in the next five seconds, I will seriously head straight for Texas!"

Thus, everyone kept quiet. Because nobody wanted to be shot down, hog-tied, ridden like a rodeo horse, or barbecued. Yeah, Texas hated the Holts, alright.

* * *

><p>The Holt's van drove into a tunnel. It was dark in there, and the light blinded them once they got out.<p>

"AH! My eyes!"

"The light! It buuuuurns!"

On the other side of the dark tunnel, Eisenhower parked the van in a large, cramped parking lot. He got his family to walk around half a mile away until they reached what was a state fair.

Everyone had their share of shock.

"What the heck..."

"Well, dip me in mud and roll me in breadcrumbs..."

"DAD!"

"SUGARPLUM!"

They all turned to the man of the house. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?"

"You said there'd be intense training!" Madison protested.

Eisenhower laughed. "Sorry, but not today."

"Snickerdoodle, what's this all about?" Mary-Todd asked her husband, calling him in lovey-dovey couple speak.

"Well, my peachy pie," he said. "I thought we could have some time off from all the training. Relax a little."

"Dad," Hamilton began. "...are you high?"

"What? No! Um...just go have fun!"

"But — "

Eisenhower dug into his pockets and drew out a few bills and coins. "Here! Now go and Just. Have. Fun. A-and...that's an order!"

The three Holt children exchanged looks, then ran off just as their father told them.

* * *

><p>"<em>D<em>_ie atemberaubenden mich_! The Awesome Me!" a certain Prussian exclaimed at the top of his lungs. "The Awesome Me shall seize this fair's vital regions!"

"_POFA BE!_" a Hungarian woman screamed at him upon forcefully planting a frying pan to his face. "SHUT UP!"

"They're as lively as always, I see," said the aristocratic Austrian as he watched his ex-wife repeatedly smack the albino with her kitchen utensil.

A cheery Liechtenstein came running up to a Swiss man.

"_Bruder! Bruder! _Look!" she said as she held up a large teddy bear in front of him. "I totally owned that shooting game!"

"Oh..." Vash said. "I'm very proud but...you should have told me before you went running off like that. Imagine what could have happened to you! We're in a different country, for crying out loud! You could have been kidnapped, raped, shot, mauled..."

A half-conscious Gilbert glided over to them and wrap his arm around the Swiss' shoulders. "Hey, _Schweiz_...you don't have to break it up to her like that~"

"Get off me!"

Vash attempted to push the Prussian away. Lucky for him, Elizabeta flew in, did an epic war scream, and knocked Gilbert out with her trusted frying pan.

Roderich did a facepalm. "I am somehow regretted to have been grouped together with the four of you..."

* * *

><p>A narcissistic, mean-spirited Prussian. A pompous, aristocratic Austrian. A manly-yet-womanly Hungarian. A hot-headed, gun-wielding Swiss. A soft-spoken but determined Liechtenstein. Individually, they are dangerous and awesome (and yes, they are dangerously awesome). But as an alliance? Eh...not so much. Just Prussia, Austria, and Hungary alone can create utter chaos, let alone having the brother-sister duo join in. And if any of you have forgotten, Switzerland doesn't fancy Austria that much. In fact, he doesn't fancy Austria at all.<p>

"I-I'll take one please!"

"Here you go, sir." The vendor gave Vash a small corndog. The Swiss bought from the cheapest food stall selling the smallest servings.

"Are you gonna put some mustard on that?" Gilbert asked Vash as soon as he got back to the group.

"The vendor said it would cost me more." The Swiss took out a small packet and squeezed out the cheese on his corndog. "It's a good thing I brought my cheese."

Soon after, Roderich decided to treat everyone to lunch.

"Wow, Specs," Gilbert said before digging in. "This probably cost you half of your savings!"

"A quarter, actually," the Austrian said curtly. "Or was it an eighth..."

Lili was laughing softly, but not soft enough to prevent her brother from hearing her.

"What's so funny, Lili?" Vash asked her.

"Nothing," she told him. "It's just that...you and _Herr __Österreich _are so much alike."

Vash Zwingli snapped. "I AM NOTHING LIKE HIM!"

* * *

><p>The Prussian yawned loudly. "I'm bored...any sign of them yet?"<p>

"You've been asking that for the past three hours!" the Hungarian replied irritably. "And you're not even helping us!"

"_W__as auch immer_ ," Gilbert waved at her dismissively. "Whatever, Lizzie."

Elizabeta's eyes grew wide, her face grew hotter, and her pulse fastened. She was just about to hit Gilbert with her frying pan for the _n_th time that day when Vash and Lili hurried over in screaming fits.

"We found them!" "Over there!"

They were pointing at a stage where a lot of people were currently gathering.

"'_BEER-DRINKING CONTEST TODAY_'!" Gilbert read the banner hung above the stage. He pumped his fist into the air and exclaimed, "Alright! I'm definitely joining!"

"The Holts are going to be in the contest," Switzerland explained. "Drinking is exclusive from minors, so they entered only Eisenhower Holt."

"Knowing them, they will easily reject our request," Roderich said. "Surely beating them at their own game will render them vulnerable to our commands."

Hungary raised a question. "So, you're saying that we have to go against Eisenhower Holt in this drinking contest?"

Austria nodded. "That is precisely what I am saying."

"And who among us will be participa — "

"_VORW__ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ__RTS!_"

Before they knew it, Gilbert was already running off to the stage.

* * *

><p>A beefy hand stopped Hamilton, Reagan, and Madison from going up the stage.<p>

"I'm sorry, kids, but sadly you cannot participate."

"EH?"

Their mother held them back from ripping the man apart. "Calm down, you three!"

"But Moooom!" the two girls whined.

"Just because we're minors..." Hamilton grumbled and pouted.

"How about I join in for ya, kids?" their father told them in attempt to brighten up their mood. "I'll win it for all of us!"

"Good idea, dad!" "Yeah!" "Knock 'em dead!"

Just as he was about to go up the stage, his wife caught his arm.

"Bubble Tea, are you sure about this?" Mary-Todd looked worried. "I mean, what if you get too drunk...?"

"Don't worry, madam!" said the man at the stage. "A little alcohol ain't a problem for a man like your husband! Unless...you ain't got the manly guts!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" every Holt present yelled at the man in unison. "No one says a Holt doesn't have manly guts and lives!"

Eisenhower march up the stage, pushing the man aside. His family was cheering for him, and he was determined in leading them to victory.

* * *

><p><em>[ Come one, come all! ]<em> the host said into the mic, greatly amplifying his voice across a small area. _[ It's three in the afternoon. Pretty hot, amirite? Well, I say it's the perfect time to chug down some beer! ]_

The crowd cheered and clapped, and the host bowed.

_[I give you the five brave men who've stepped up to the challenge!]_ He pointed at Eisenhower Holt, Gilbert Beilschmidt, and three other men sitting at the long table behind him. _[ They're probably the bravest, manliest men I've ever met! Why? Oh, I'll tell you WHY! ]_

One of the stage personnel handed the host a glass of beer. She was feeling a bit woozy despite wearing a protective face mask. Once the host took the glass, the personnel ran off wobbling and bumping into the other stage personnel until she fell down the stairs and fainted.

The host held the glass up high in the as if he was toasting to an invisible giant. _[ This! In this one glass may probably be the strongest alcoholic drink known to man! One glass is capable of knocking out even the toughest pro-wrestler! I call it...THE BEER FROM THE HEAVENS! ]_

Thunderous clapping and ear-splitting screams were coming from the crowd.

Among the throng of onlookers was Hungary, plugging her eyes and wearing a face of disgust.

_Beer freaks_, she thought. Just then, she remembered that Austria also drank a lot of beer during Oktoberfest. _Especially_ during Oktoberfest. _Well, they all can't be that bad..._

_[Well then...]_ The host turned around, facing the competitors. A small pyramid comprising of fifteen glasses of said beer was stacked in front of each man. _[ We all know the rules here, am I right gentlemen? ]_

"_Heck yeah!_" the five men told him.

The host smirked, and faced the audience once more. _[ ALRIGHT! Is everyone ready? ]_

"_YEAAAAAHH!_" the crowd replied.

_[Then Ready! Get Set! GOOO!]_

* * *

><p>Apparently, it had only been ten minutes into the competition when three of the contestants had given up. The first to succumb couldn't even handle the strong smell of the beer; the second had only gone through four glasses when he passed out; and the third threw up before finishing his seventh glass.<p>

Now, it was just down to the Holt and the Prussian.

"_GO DAD!_" Eisenhower's family cheered him from the crowd.

Eisenhower gave a big thumbs and went on.

"_DON'T YOU __**DARE**__ LOSE NOW, GILBERT!_" Elizabeta and the three Germanics rooted for Prussia, but it was mostly the Hungarian doing the screaming.

"_HEAR, HEAR, LIZZIE!_" Prussia yelled back and finished his twelfth beer.

Later, both men were down to their last glass. While they were drinking away, the host pumped up the crowd.

_[ Alright, folks! We're now down to our last two contestants! Who will triumph and who will suffer? ]_

_I'm already suffering, you idiot!_ Eisenhower screamed in his mind. His insides were bubbling, his chest was hurting, and he couldn't even begin to think how red his face was right now.

The Holt had been glancing at his opponents from time to time, and he realized that there was something about the platinum blond-haired man. The beer managed to make even Eisenhower feel dreariness, but it only seems to make the blond even want to drink it more!

Eisenhower was chugging the last few pints of his fifteenth glass when he heard a slam from his left. The crowd was silent, bewildered and fearful of the scene. The younger contestant had slammed his empty beer glass onto the table. His eyes were closed, and his head was down.

"..._more_..." Gilbert was breathing heavily and sweating like a pig.

Eisenhower lifted the glass from his lips and stared at his competitor. "What..."

"_More!_" the Prussian repeated. He lifted his head and stared at the crowd with red, wild eyes and a devilish grin. "Give me more of this stuff!"

A few seconds of hesitation, then the crowd burst into applause, louder than ever before. The cheers were so loud that Gilbert couldn't even think straight. Well, that wasn't the only reason why he couldn't think straight...

"I didn't think it was even possible..." the host said to himself. He sighed and spoke into the mic. _[ REMARKABLE! He finished all fifteen glasses of the Beer from the Heavens! ]_

"More like the _Beer from Hell_!"

Every head turned to the Prussian on stage. He made his way to the host and faced him. When he spoke, his voice was amplified through the microphone.

_[ Your beer,]_ Gilbert said between hiccups, _[ is filled with the some most dangerous, illegal drugs.]_

Gasping and rapid conversation came from the crowd.

Prussia's vision was getting blurry and his legs were giving in, so he slung his arm around the host's shoulder and continued.

_[ Ya see everyone *hic* in this guy's 'Beer of the Heavens', I tasted *hic*]_ He counted off on his fingers. _[ ...ecstasy, heroine, *hic* cocaine, and of course..*hic*.. Marijuana! ]_

The crowd had turned restless. Daggers were shot at the quivering host, who shoved the Prussian away and did some crowd-control.

_[ Hey! Hey, everyone! Are you gonna really believe this guy? I mean, he's totally wasted! ]_

"Oh yeah?" Gilbert said defiantly. "Well, maybe this will be enough for the UN to come and arrest you." He showed the host an ID card and vial.

"M-my ID card!" The host frantically searched his pockets to confirm it. It was definitely in the Prussian's hand.

"Do you see this vial?" Gilbert teasingly waved the vial in front of the host's face. "I slipped some of your beer into this when no one was looking. And with this ID card of yours, we'll be able to track you down in no time!"

_[ DAMMIT! ]_

The host jumped off the stage and run through the crowd. His escape plan was foiled, though. And by none other than Mary-Todd and the Holt children.

"_YOU JERK!_"

"_YOU DRUGGED MY HUSBAND! I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART! LIMB. FROM. LIMB!_"

Soon enough, local authorities had come in and arrested the man. There was a lot of cursing from both the criminal and the victims, and it didn't stop until the police drove away with the man.

* * *

><p>All five competitors were immediately taken to the nearest hospital, including Eisenhower Holt and Prussia. Gilbert rejected all help offered by the doctors and nurses.<p>

"You should at least let them check your condition," Roderich told him. He lowered his voice down to a whisper. "Do keep in mind that you are no longer a country thus, you are mortal."

Meanwhile, the Holt family was frantic and in a great state of panic.

"Oh, caramel apple!" Mary-Todd wrapped her arms around her husband and hugged him tight. "Please be okay!"

"Aw, key lime pie, I'll be just fine!" Eisenhower reassured his wife. "Nothing can pull a Holt down! Am I right?"

"Right!" all the Holt children agreed and pumped their fists into the air.

Mary-Todd was slightly relieved. The will to live surely runs in the family, but she couldn't help but worry. "Still...I wonder if that man was telling us the truth. About the number of drugs in that beer you drank...it could be dangerous for all we know."

Everyone just stared at her.

"Mom, you're weird today."

"Honey, we've survived epidemics! Intense training! Heck, even the Hunt! How can you be so worried about something as minor as this?"

"Ah, you're right," she said. "I really shouldn't worry so much..."

* * *

><p>"The Awesome Me can't succumb to weak drugs like these! Kesesese!"<p>

"Weak drugs?" the others exclaimed. "Didn't you say that some of the most dangerous drugs — you lied, didn't you?"

The Prussian bore a wide, cheeky grin. "Of course! But nonetheless, there were drugs in the beer. Just ecstasy and crack cocaine, but nothing more than that.

"And the reason for the strong smell and taste was over-fermentation and just a plain, horrible recipe."

Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary facepalm-ed. "You idiot..."

"And...the mean man just panicked because you managed to expose him?" Lili asked.

"He didn't even have the guts to argue with you," Vash told Gilbert. "What a coward..."

"I have to admit," Roderich began. "You did a great job back there, _Preußen_. You were not only able to win the contest and beat Eisenhower Holt , but also expose a heinous criminal for who he is."

Prussia's smile grew wider and his ego got bigger. "Kesesese! The Awesome Me's the most supreme!"

* * *

><p>"The drugs were very weak that they simply dissolved and barely even pose a threat to you," the doctor told Eisenhower and his family. "Mr. Holt, you'll be just fine."<p>

Smiles slowly grew on the faces of the Holt family. Then there was cheering, laughing, and gloating.

"Dad's gonna be okay!"

"Heck yeah!"

"WOOOOOOT!"

Poor doctor. He probably needed a doctor himself after receiving a body-crushing bear hug from the entire Holt family. He wouldn't even call it a hug, but more of a tackle — American-football style.

* * *

><p>The Holts found the platinum blond-haired man right outside the Emergency Room. He was together with four other people, and all of them looked like foreigners. The blond man was smiling and laughing defiantly, as if he never even drank the drugged beer.<p>

"We should really thank the man, sweetheart," Mary-Todd told her husband.

"I dunno..."

"Oh, come on! Be a man!"

She pushed him forward and he went stumbling towards the blond man's group. Luckily, Eisenhower managed to avoid tripping, and he regained his composure in front the blond man.

He was hesitant. "T-thanks...for helping me out back there."

The blond man stared at Eisenhower for a while until he smirked and patted the Holt's shoulder. "No problem, sir! Just being a good citizen, that's all."

The rest of the Holt family came over. Hamilton, Madison, and Reagan felt the awkward feeling that the short-haired blond with the barre had the idea of shooting them down with a large Swiss gun by the way he was looking at them.

Mary-Todd stepped forward and shook the platinum blond-haired man's hand. "Thank you for everything! Is there any way we can it up to you?"

The edge of the blond's lip curled. "Well, there is _one_ thing...okay, Roddy! It's your turn now!"

The blond quickly grabbed the hand of his brown-haired companion and pushed him towards the Holt family. The brown-haired man was shocked at first, but then he turned his head and shot daggers at the blond who put him into this mess. The latter just grinned and waved.

The brunette sighed heavily and turned back to the Holts. "Mr. And Mrs. Holt, my name is Roderich Edelstein. I and my companions here are members of the United Nations, and we would be honored if you would care to join us to the next World Summit."

It took a minutes for the Holt family to absorb this and reply. Actually, they all replied in the same way.

"EH?" "World what now?" "Pffft...Edelstein." "This guys talks like a sissy!"

"Yeah! He's a total sissy, ain't he?" the blond man from earlier now exclaimed and mocked Roderich.

All five Holts were greatly surprised when the brunette in the group suddenly smacked the blond's face with a frying pan.

"_I__dióta!_" she screamed. The Holts didn't need Google Translate to know what that meant.

Roderich tried to ignore the two and continued. "So...um...do you accept our offer?"

"Didn't you say it was an _honor_ if we go with you?" Eisenhower asked.

"Yes," the brown-haired man replied.

"Then we'll go!" Eisenhower said and the kids cheered and woot-ed. "But, um...where's this World Summit of yours gonna be?"

Before he could answer, Roderich's phone rang.

"Symphony no. 5?" the platinum-haired blond jeered. "What kind of ringtone is that, Roddy?"

Roderich snobbed the blond and answered his phone. "_Hallo_, _Edelstein s__prechen...Was?...Ah, ja...ordnung,__Wir werden gleich da...Gut, Auf Wiedersehen._"

"Was that Arthur, Roderich?" the brunette with the frying asked him.

"_Ja_," he replied. "He said that the meeting has been relocated."

"_Say what?_"

* * *

><p>CLIFFHANGER. OH YEEEEAH~<p>

Obvious crack in there guys. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated~

Credits go to Google Translate and my dad's German dictionary for the German dialogue.

On another note, it's only a few more days until the 8th of May! Himaruya Hidekazu's birthday FUCK YEAH! Don't forget it, Hetalia fans!


	4. Relocation Please!

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books(_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively), not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>They flew to London in a private jet Mathias claims to be owned by their football team, the Scandinavian Vikings.<p>

"What?" he asked Arvid, who was glaring at him after he lied to the three Madrigals. "Well technically, we are the Scandinavian Vikings, right?"

"You're an ass," Norway spat at him before boarding the plane.

* * *

><p>Dan stored the pet carrier in one of the compartments above their seats. He and Amy requested the Nordics to let them take Saladin with them.<p>

"We couldn't just leave him back at the apartment, now could we?" Dan recalls Amy telling him.

* * *

><p>Halfway through the flight, Amy and Nellie had fallen asleep. Dan was still awake, though. He was sitting next to Mathias, playing games on the Dane's 3DS.<p>

Just then, Dan spotted a yellow blur right outside their window. He pointed at it, and Denmark gasped when he saw it.

He scrambled out of his seat and ran up the aisle to the pilot's cabin, where Sweden and Norway were controlling the jet. "_Sve_! _Norge_! Open the hatch!"

"What? Are you crazy?"

"It's Gilbird! The little dude saw Gil's yellow chick flying outside his window!"

"Hn...? Th't so?" Berwald cocked a brow at the Dane, then flipped a switched on the control panel. He grabbed a mic and spoke into it.

In the passengers' cabin, Berwald's deep, dark voice was echoing throughout the cabin. The Fasten Seatbelt sign above their seat was blinking.

_[ 'veryone, pl's fast'n y'r s'tbelts 'nd d'n't 'nfast'n th'm "ntil further n'tice. ]_

Nellie abruptly woke up and shouted. "EH?"

"What's going on here?" Amy asked in a panic. She glanced at the seats across her, where Dan was just buckling his seatbelt and wearing the same fearful expression as she did.

Then, Mathias came out of the pilot's cabin and rushed to the main door.

_[ Hatch unlocked.]_ Arvid's voice said through the speakers. _[...Do your best, dumme. ]_

Denmark groaned as he forced it the door open, letting in insanely fast winds fill the cabin. He hung on to the sides of the doorway to avoid being thrown out of the plane.

"_Tanska_, be careful!" "Get it done quickly,_ Danmörk_!" he heard Tino and Nièl shout amidst the loud, howling winds.

He gave them a wide grin and thumbs up. Denmark put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

"_GILBIIIIIIIIRD!_" he called out.

A swift yellow blur flew at Denmark, hitting him squarely in the stomach, knocking him across the cabin and crashing into a wall.

Back in the pilot's cabin, Sweden pressed a button that closed the opened door. He flipped a switch and spoke into the mic again.

_[ The h'tch h's b'n cl'sed. 'S n'w s'fe to 'nfast'n y'r s'tbelts. ]_

"Mathias!" Berwald heard Tino scream in the other cabin.

Norway set the engine to auto-pilot, and he and Sweden rushed outside.

Everyone surrounded Denmark , who was sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall he crashed into. A small, yellow chick was affectionately nipping his ear.

"Quit it, Gilbird! That tickles!" he laughed.

Amy noticed the note tied to one of the chick's legs. She pointed it out, and Mathias took it from the bird.

"So?" Tino asked the Dane. "What does it say?"

Finished reading, Denmark took his eyes off the paper and stared down at the floor with horror.

"Mathias! What's in the letter?" the Norge insisted.

Denmark gulped. "Gil says that the meeting's been relocated."

"What'd you say?"

"How can they do that...?"

"Arthur chickened out, didn't he?"

"B-but we're already halfway across the Atlantic!"

Berwald stepped forward and snatched the paper away from Mathias. His serious face drastically changed to shock.

"_Må Gud förbarma våra själar,_" he said softly. "May G'd have m'rcy 'n our s'ls."

"Wait — what are you two so remorseful about?" Arvid took the paper from Sweden and examined it. His eyes grew wide and his mouth agape.

"D-don't tell me that we're going to Ivan's house instead!" Tino stammered, tears in his eyes.

"'S worse," Berwald said darkly before going back into the pilot's cabin.

"Here, Tino." Arvid handed the paper over to Finland, and followed Sweden inside.

"Oh my..." the Finn said breathlessly. "...this _is_ serious..."

Meanwhile, the three Madrigals were completely skeptical.

"What in the world is going on?" Amy asked them, her heart beating a tad bit faster than usual.

"Are they serious about relocating this meeting of yours?" Nellie asked Tino, who nodded in response.

Dan walked up to Nièl and whispered to him. "Dude, why is everyone panicking about the relocation?"

"Hm," the Icelander scratched his chin and looked down. "If I am correct, perhaps it is because we are going to _Insula Academiae_."

"...where now?" Dan was dumbfounded. He never really understood complex words of an ancient language (or at least a language he really can't understand).

"Academy Island," Nièl explained, "as what is it called by those who have heard it. It is located somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea."

"Oh, okay. But...I still don't get why everyone's so freaked out."

"The United Nations chose this as a secret meeting location because the island is surrounded by terrible storms and gigantic waves. Going within a twenty-five mile radius would sink even a ship thrice the size of the Titanic. And only the specially made transport created by the UN are capable of traveling there."

Dan gaped, then swallowed. Nièl expected him to be frozen in shock, but this was Dan Cahill. _The_ Dan Cahill who survived the hunt for the 39 Clues.

"Wicked," was what came out of the boy's mouth. He was smiling, and his eyes were wide of what Nièl saw as excitement.

"What are you two talking about over here?" Nellie said as she and Amy came over.

Dan beamed at his sister. She stepped back, feeling awkward that he brother was grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat.

"And what are you so happy about?" she asked him.

"Amy, we're going to _another_ dangerous-island-slash-secret-hideout in the middle of nowhere!"

"WHAT?" Nellie, who had overheard their conversation, yelled together with Amy.

"And you're actually happy about this?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm totally psyched!"

Amy facepalm-ed.

"The altitude," Nellied confirmed. "It's gone to you, kiddo."

"Dweeb," Amy cursed him. Her glare said all the words she needed to say. _Have you forgotten everything we've been through during the Clue hunt?_

Dan stared back at her with defiance. _Of course not!_

"Then why aren't you just as scared as those guys?" Amy panicked.

"What's there to be scared of?" Dan told her confidently. "Compared to everything else we've faced before?"

_He's right_, Amy thought. _But...this is still dangerous! I thought that stuff like this won't happen again once the Clue hunt was finished._

Right at that moment, she was getting suspicious of the five men they've just met. Is it possible that they're secret agents who are after the Cahills? Are these men really going to kill her, Dan, and Nellie?

_They helped us out back in New York_, she told herself. _There's no way they'd do anything to hurt us._

Then she remembered three simple words that wiped away all of her high hopes.

**Trust no one.**

It was practically the family motto.

They pull off a facade, being all nice and helpful. But then they get us to go with them to a storm-ridden island in who-knows-where, making an excuse like "We're going to the World Summit". What if these men had been lying to them all this time? That won't be a surprise. And why on earth are these guys going to the World Summit? Wait...isn't the World Summit — as Dan said earlier that day — that big meeting where lots of countries' leaders go to? Why would five plain men like Mathias, Berwald, Arvid, Tino, and Nièl be going to the Summit? Hold on — these guys aren't even plain at all. Mathias and Berwald look like they've taken steroids, and Arvid is just strange (having that green aura around him and all). Tino and Nièl seem like normal guys, though. Then there's that penguin-like bird always hanging around Nièl...WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

So many questions were swimming in Amy's thoughts, testing her trust in the people who could possible be a new threat to not only herself but to Dan and Nellie as well.

Amy felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Amy." It was Dan. His voice was of worry. "Are you alright?"

"Huh...?" She hadn't realized that she has been staring out the window for the past few minutes.

"Oh great, it's gone to Amy, too!" Nellie said fearfully. She shook her fist in the air, cursing at something cannot be cursed. "Darn you, high altitude!"

Dan and Nièl were laughing at the _au pair_. The bird atop Nièl's head flew over to Nellie and nipped her ear affectionately.

"Puffin seems to like you, Miss Gomez," Nièl told her, smiling. "He fancies funny ladies."

Nellie flushed a bit, rubbing the back of head and grinning. "Ehehe...I kinda like this little guy, too!"

Amy watched the scene, having a lump in her throat. _They get along so well..._

She wasn't going to get her suspicious up. At least, not now.

* * *

><p>Austria: I find it remarkable for her to be able to post two chapters in one day.<p>

Prussia: That's awesome! But not as awesome as me! Kesesese!

Hungary: Finally! She closed up that annoying cliffhanger she ended our chapter with.

Switzerland: This chapter looks pretty short though...compared to our long part two chapters ago...

Liechtenstein: But it was so deep, _bruder_. I think that it's just fine.

Me: A-ah...I'm never going to let them go on the Internet ever again...Now get out of here! I'm gonna do the Author's Notes!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>_I__nsula __Academiae_is comprised of two Latin words: _insula_ (island) and _a__cademiae _(academy). I based this idea on Gakuen Hetalia, which is said (by Himaruya himself) to be located somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Credits to Google Translate and Hetalia fan comics for the Scandinavian words.


	5. Blackmail Time, daze!

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books(_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_) _of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>"NO! I won't!" she shrieked.<p>

"Come on, Natalie!" her brother urged her. "We have to!"

"I said, NO!" she repeated. "No in hell's way, Ian! There is no way I'm going into a _bargain store_!"

"For Christ's sake, Natalie! Just go in with me already!"

* * *

><p>People on the street were staring at the boy pulling his younger sister into a bargain store. She was shrieking and looked like she was on the verge of tears, but her brother was determined to get her inside. They pitied the girl, but some felt more sorry for the brother. The girl was a pompous brat, and the brother was merciless.<p>

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street was a shiny, black Land Rover LRX parked right across the bargain store. Inside were five Asians, all looking at the brother-and-sister scene.

"Don't they remind you of us and Yao?" Taiwan asked the other four.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Well, at least three of them did.

"B-but...I love _oppa_!" South Korea cried out, defending his affection for his older brother and former caretaker. "That's just you guys, daze~!"

Vietnam hit him on the head with her oar. "Shut up."

"Hm, should we would go in now?" Hong Kong asked them as he zoomed in with his binoculars.

"No, not yet," Vietnam said. "We must wait a bit more..."

Thailand rummaged his backpack and drew out five earphones. He distributed them amongst the group and put one into his ear. "Everyone, please put them on. We'll be able to communicate easily with these."

"They're in," Hong Kong said and put away his binoculars.

"Alright." Vietnam put on her own earphone and addressed the group. "Let's move out."

* * *

><p>"This is embarrassing..." Natalie groaned as Ian picked out clothes on a rack. "Humiliating..."<p>

"Oh, be quiet," the older sibling told her off. He took a red sweater from the rack and held it up in front of himself. He turned to his sister and asked her, "What do you think about this one?"

"It looks like you took it right out of a bargain store," Natalie told him smugly.

"But I _did_ take this out of a bargain store," Ian replied in a matter-of-fact way, wiping off the smile on his sister's face. "Why don't you go and find some clothes for yourself?"

She looked at him as he just told to her to jump off a cliff. "Are you kidding me?"

He looked at her with a dead serious expression, and she went off to the ladies' section.

Natalie just walked circles around the store, not even daring to touch a single clothing article. It was until she came upon a shelf with a simple cream-colored scarf on the very top shelf. She couldn't reach it even when she was on her toes. Natalie didn't want to ask help from Ian or anyone; she didn't want anyone to know that Natalie Kabra had any interest in a simpleton's cloth.

So, she took a wobbly stool and stood on top of it to reach the scarf on the top shelf. Natalie reached for the scarf, but she still couldn't grab it. She got on her toes and reached farther.

"J-just...a little...more...AH!"

Natalie slipped and fell off the stool. She was ready to take in the humiliation of falling on the floor and Ian laughing at her, but that didn't happen. Someone had caught her just in time.

The Kabra girl opened her eyes to see a young Chinese boy looking down at her.

"Are you alright, miss?" the boy asked her.

Natalie's face felt hot, and she stuttered. "I-I..."

"Natalie!"

Ian ran over to them, breathing heavily and wearing a face of horror. "Natalie, are you alright?"

"Y-yes..." She got to her feet and looked down, not wanting her brother to see her flushed face.

"What in the bloody hell were you doing?" he yelled at her. "I was worried sick!"

"She was trying to get this, daze~!"

The Kabras turned to see a tall Korean boy reaching for the scarf Natalia was after. He handed it to the girl and grinned.

"There ya go, miss!"

"I-I didn't want this!" Natalie denied out loud.

The Korean cocked his head to the side and raised a brow at her. "Eh? But that scarf's the only thing on the top shelf. And Lee and I just saw you trying to get it a few moments ago."

"N-no I wasn't!" she cried out.

Natalie could hear Ian snickering behind her. "What's so funny?"

"I don't know what's funnier," he told her. "You stammering or the fact that you wanted that scarf!"

"Shut it, Ian!" Natalie told him off. "You were the one who told me to pick something for myself!"

"...um, so...we'll be going now," the Chinese boy said as he grabbed the Korean's wrist and began to walk away.

"Ah! Wait!"

Natalie caught up to them before they could exit the store. She was looking the other direction while she talked to them. "Erm...I...I just wanted to thank you for helping me."

The Korean smiled broadly and laughed, and the Chinese smirked.

"All in a day's work, miss!" the taller one beamed at Natalie.

"Uh-hum," the Chinese boy said.

They both smiled and waved on the way out, leaving Natalie with a lighter mood than earlier.

"Is it just me," Ian said, startling Natalie. He had crept behind her whilst she wasn't looking. "or do you seem to fancy that Chinese boy?"

Natalie's cheeks turned bright red. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, so it's the Korean one then?"

"SNOG OFF!"

* * *

><p>The Kabra siblings went out of the bargain store after purchasing Ian's sweater and Natalie's scarf. A little while later, Natalie's stomach grumbled.<p>

"I'm famished, Ian," she told him. "Feed me."

"Quit your whining. The next diner is just a few blocks away."

"Diner? A few blocks?"

It was hard for someone like Natalie Kabra to get used to this way of life.

"Is there a shortcut of some sort we can take instead?" she asked him, full of hope.

"Hm, we can take this alleyway over here." Ian pointed at the alleyway a few steps ahead.

Natalie's face lit up. She grabbed her brother and quickly ran down the alleyway.

Suddenly, three men blocked their way. They had malicious expressions on their faces, and all three held a knife in one hand.

"Well, what do we have here?" said the one who appeared to be the leader of the trio. "A laddie and a lassie in our alleyway?"

Ian and Natalie swallowed hard. The younger one greatly regretted ever taking her brother's suggestion into account.

"Natalie, get behind me," Ian told her in a low whisper. It wasn't a request but an order, and she immediately retreated behind her brother.

"Listen up, you squirts." The leader pointed his knife at Ian's throat, and gave the boy a devilish smirk. "If you give us all your money, we'll let you out of our alleyway alive."

"B-but we don't have any money!" Natalie cried out.

"Oh really?" The leader now pointed the knife at Ian's wrist, where he wore a shining, golden watch. "Then explain this."

Ian's heartbeat hastened. Maybe if he really did just hand over his watch, they will surely leave him and Natalie alone. But he's learned a lot more than to simply trust someone like that.

"How can we be sure that you won't hurt either of us once I give you my watch?" Ian bravely asked the men.

The leader was a more brutal than he had expected. The man took no hesitation into slashing his knife at Ian, who quickly stepped back to avoid it. Unfortunately, the blade left a light scratch on Ian's cheek.

Ian moved a hand to his scratch. He saw fresh blood on his hand, and he swore loudly. Natalie screamed and her eyes were starting to get puffy and red.

"If neither of you shut your traps right now," the leader threatened them. "I will NOT regret killing you on the spot."

THEN SUDDENLY, THERE WAS AN ANNOYING, EAR-PIERCING WAR CRY.

"_HANGUG__-EO TAIGEO KIG__! KOREAN TIGER KICK, DAZE~!_"

And South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand fell down from the sky and landed on the three men.

Natalie and Ian stumbled backwards and screamed in surprise. They watched as the newcomers began to pummel the three-man gang. Later, two other girls walked into the scene.

A Chinese brunette ran over to the Kabras and helped them up to their feet. "Are you two okay?"

Neither one was able to answer in any way other than from stammering.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Meanwhile, the Asian boys were still beating the hell out of the gang. South Korea was riding on the leader's back while pulling the man's hair; Hong Kong rapidly threw small explosives at another man; and Thailand went all Muay Thai on the last guy.

The other woman who arrived, who was much taller and older than the younger-looking Chinese girl, came up to the Asian boys and spoke in a stern voice. "I think you've dealt enough damage, boys."

"Aw, _Beteunam-noona_!" Korea whined, who had the gang leader in a headlock. "I'm not done yet!"

Hong Kong threw his last stick of dynamite into a dumpster. The man hiding inside screamed, and failed to escape before the explosive blew off. Hong Kong turned to Vietnam and flashed her his signature horns sign with one hand.

"Wish," he said.

Thailand was too caught up on his part, that before he realized what Vietnam had said he had already grabbed his victim's skull and slammed it into a brick wall.

"Eh? What did you say, ana?" he asked innocently. He couldn't pull it off, obviously. Not with all the blood in his hand.

Vietnam sighed and rolled her eyes. "Boys."

"We're going to take you somewhere safe, alright?" Taiwan told Ian and Natalie with a warm smile.

Without having to wait for an answer, she took them by their wrists and headed out of the alleyway. They were joined by the other four Asians soon after.

[I'm too lazy to use those long dashes the site provides, so there's only one more thing to do!]

_[MAGICAL TIMESKIP! Wheeeee~]_

Somewhere in London, in an underground opium den...

"YOUCH!"

"Please, hold still!"

Natalie watched as her brother was being treated by Taiwan. On another side of the room were South Korea and Hong Kong smoking opium. Thailand stood beside Natalie, merely smiling and watching the scene as if it were a day-to-day thing.

"_Hàn Quốc__! Hương Cảng!_" Vietnam yelled at the two youngest boys. "Put the opium down!"

"But — "

"NOW!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

"Are they always like this?" Natalie asked the Thai beside her.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he replied, smiling. "Though the situation changes when we are not in the opium den."

After yet another yelp from Ian, Taiwan had finished fixing him up.

"Jesus, that Chinese medicine you used really did a number on me," Ian said as he rubbed his cheek.

"Well, you're welcome," Taiwan told him irritably.

Ian stood up and scanned the room. "This is very impressive."

"_Xièxiè_," Taiwan and Hong Kong said unison.

"But," Ian began. "an underground Chinese opium den beneath the streets of London? How did it manage to survive all these years...?"

"We Chinese have our ways," Hong Kong said in a domineering way. "This particular den is very special. It is reinforced with strong barriers, thus making it a good hideout and bomb shelter. It was very much a big help for the Chinese staying in London during the Second World War."

"Hey! Hey! Everyone!" South Korea said while frantically waving his floppy, over-sized sleeves in the air. "Opium dens originated from Korea, daze~!"

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam snapped at him. "Stop making false claims, Yong Soo!"

"Ah~ Everyone's so lively today, ana~" Thailand said dreamily, watching his siblings bicker again.

* * *

><p>"Marry me~!"<p>

Hong Kong smacked South Korea with a fish. A SMELLY FISH HE JUST FISHED OUT OF THE RIVER.

Natalie didn't know what to react to first: the sudden, awkward marriage proposal from the Korean, or the Chinese smacking the Korean with a smelly fish.

"Sorry about that miss," Hong Kong apologized to Natalie."What Yong Soo meant to say was..."

South Korea regain his composure and grinned at the Kabra girl. He took her hand and looked at her endearingly. "Please go with us to the World Summit!"

Natalie flushed a bit, then relied with an "...Eh...?".

Ian decided to cut in. "The World Summit? Who do you think you're kidding?

"The World Summit is a very important meeting where only the most important and powerful leaders of each country are invited. Why on earth would people such as you be going there?"

"Maybe it's because we're important?" Taiwan explained curtly. "And trust me, we're just as important as the leaders of the world."

Ian "hmph"-ed and crossed his arms. "Arrogant, aren't we?"

"Oh, _I'm_ the one who's arrogant!"

Hong Kong and South Korea had to hold back Taiwan before she could do any damage to Ian.

"Let me at him! Let me at him, dammit!"

Natalie spoke up this time. "And besides, what makes you think we'll come with you?"

"Well, for one," Vietnam began. "We saved your lives."

"I saved yours twice," Hong Kong pointed out to Natalie, making her blush.

"Pft. We can save our own lives if we wanted to!" Ian said defiantly.

Vietnam crossed her arms and glared at the Kabra boy. "Well, if that's how it's going to be, then..." She turned her head to Thailand. "Danuwong, do you have them with you?"

The Thai shook his head, and pointed at South Korea instead.

Im Yong Soo threw his floppy, over-sized sleeves into the air in a 'bonzai!' manner and cheered. "Yey! Blackmail time!"

Ian and Natalie exchanged faces of horror and confusion. "Blackmail...?"

Meanwhile, South Korea rummaged his sling bag and took out a few pictures. "Here they are, daze~!"

Vietnam swiped them away from the Korean and waved them in front of the Kabras. "We have pictures of you in your most humiliating instances."

"Prove it," Ian tried to say without giving away his shaky voice.

The edge of Vietnam's lip curled into a devilish smile that sent shivers down the Kabra children's spines. She reached the pictures out for them to grab. "Seeing is believing, I say."

The latter quickly took the pictures from her and gaped at what they saw.

Natalie burst into a fit of laughter. "Ian! Those are the most ridiculous boxers I've ever seen in my entire life!"

Rather than to argue with his sister, he just stared at his embarrassing photo. Ian's hands shook as he recalled the scene from where this very same situation occurred.

"T-this...this was when we were still in Korea! At Uncle Alistair's house!" He looked at the five Asians. "How did you get this picture of me?"

"Oh, we have our sources," Taiwan said slyly as she eyed her Korean brother, who give the Kabras a double thumbs up and another one of his typical false claims (of which is actually right for the first time ever).

"That picture originated from Korea, daze~!"

Ian was shaking. "I-if I have one...then what about Natalie — "

"_GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_"

Natalie screamed so hard it could have ruptured Ian's eardrum. He peeked at her picture, and almost died of laughter upon seeing it.

"You look like a pig! BWAHAHAHA!"

"S-shut up!"

Natalie ripped the picture apart almost instantly. She was fuming and breathing heavily.

"HA! That humiliating picture of me is no more!" Natalie told the Asians.

"Little Miss Kabra," Vietnam said as she walked circles around the two children. "Have you ever heard of a photocopier?"

"Of course! Why do you — OH MY GOD, NO!"

"Oh my God, _YES_!" Taiwan exclaimed. "Show 'em, Yong Soo!"

Upon hearing her request, South Korea immediately flipped his sling bag upside down and emptied all its contents: numerous humiliating pictures — and photocopies of the those pictures — of Ian and Natalie Kabra.

"And not only that..." Taiwan took out her Acer laptop and showed them the very same pictures they saw earlier. "I've already uploaded all those photos into my laptop. They're all set for a trip into every single electrical device in the world, and all I need to do is press 'Send'."

The Asians looked smugly at the Kabras, very much content with their doing. Ian and Natalie had never been more scared in their life since the Clue Hunt.

So what did we learn here, kiddies? That's right...DON'T MESS WITH ASIA. _ESPECIALLY_ YAO'S FRUKING BADASS FAMILY. And was anyone wondering what happened to the smelly fish Hong Kong used to smack Korea with? Well, he sent it back to his place, where his people shipped it to Africa, where the people ate it. AND THEY GOT DIARRHEA. Pft, and you all believe that they got it from the water. HELL TO THE NAH. They got it from HK's SMELLY FISH OF DOOM.

* * *

><p>Omigod there's so much crack in here xDDD And I think I made Natalie too <em>uke <em>here, but MEH. It's all for the crack anyway.

If you noticed, I mentioned each country's specialty/significance here: Thailand and his Muay Thai, Hong Kong and his fireworks (NOT THE SMELLY FISH), South Korea being the final destination in Book Three, and Taiwan and her Acer computers. Oh, and Viet-chan makes excellent policemen and interrogators. \( ° u ○ )

BTW..**.HAPPY 26****th**** BIRTHDAY, HIMARUYA HIDEKAZU~!** ( / ; ロ ; )/ \ ( = フ = \ )


	6. Submarines Around the Mediterranean

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>The IKEA-labeled plane was flying over the southern coast of France at around five in the afternoon when the pilots received a transmission.<p>

_[ Norway? Sweden? ]_ It was England.

_[ Britannien__? ]_ Sweden asked in his usual low tone.

_[ Did you manage to get them? ]_

_[ Yes ]_ Norway replied. _[ But England, why did you change the venue __—__ ]_

_[__— I don't want to talk about it!__]_ the Brit on the other line snapped at him.

The two Scandinavians sat silently after being told off. Later, England cleared his throat and spoke.

_[ Sorry about, chaps. Now tell me...where in the world are you? ]_

Sweden checked the radar on the panel and confirmed their position. _[ R'ght 'bove C'nnes. ]_

_[ Cannes? As in...Cannes, France? Hm...can you land in the small airport a little bit outside of Monaco? I'll immediately inform her of your arrival. ]_

_[ Switching vessels...? ]_ Sweden thought aloud.

_[ Well, it's not like you want to get caught in a severe storm at sea, now do you? ]_ England pointed out.

The Swede grumbled a reply, and the Norge made a course for Monaco.

_[ Roger than, England ]_ Norway said.

* * *

><p>Eisenhower Holt stared off the coast of Alexandria, silently watching his three children playing in the clear, crystal waters nearby. And when I mean playing, I mean wrestling and trying hard enough to get not drowned by the other. He also watched as the albino man he recently met joined them.<p>

Gilbert launched himself into air (after jumping off a prissy Austrian) and cannonball-ing into the water, creating a relatively big splash that knocked the Holt children off their feet. Hamilton's, Reagan's, and Madison's head broke the surface with a sharp breath, but began to laugh soon after the Prussian yelled out "The Awesome Me totally knocked you down, dudes!" accompanied with a weird laugh that sounded like "kesesese!".

Unfortunately for them, the Swiss man had to cut between their fun time. "Gilbert! We don't have time for fun and games! Now get out of the water or else!"

"Or else what, Zwingli?" the Prussian talked back domineeringly. The Holt children held back their laughter after he mention Vash's surname. "You'll shoot me with your precious guns, the ones Gupta's dudes confiscated back at the airport?"

Switzerland was nowhere near happy about it. He tried his best to explain to Egypt about the situation and that keeping his guns beside him would do him and the others a great favor. BUT _NO_. Prussia just had to open his big, fat mouth and remind Gupta of the little incident they had a few years ago.

"_It wasn't meant to turn out that way!"_ Vash could remember himself screaming out his defense back at the airport. "_Those submarines exploded by accident!"_

Returning to the current times, he and Gilbert were rallying at each other with various, colorful German and Swiss swears. And even to some point, both men were just making them up.

Later, a sharp scream in Hungarian was heard. "_POFA BE! _Both of you!"

It came from Elizabeta standing on the beach beside Roderich. Hungary's hands were on her hips as she glared at the Swiss and the Prussian (but she had a stronger glare on the second); Austria's hand was on his face (Prussia concluded that he just did his casual facepalm).

"Will you _please_ act like proper adults?" Roderich scolded them. "At least in front of our guests?"

Moments later, the Holt children and Prussia rushed back to shore and had a change of clothes. Once everyone was gathered, Roderich introduced the Holts to a dark-skinned Egyptian he and the other nations knew very well.

"_Herr und Frau_ Holt, this is our friend, _Herr_ Gupta Muhammed Hassan."

Egypt held out his hands for Eisenhower and Mary-Todd to shake. As they shook hands, Gupta was wearing a neutral expression. In fact, he wore the very same expression through most of the time he spent with the group.

Austria said that Egypt would be taking them to a pier, where they will take a submarine to _Insula Academiea_. There was a bit of questioning from the Holts, mostly Eisenhower, and from (the ever-annoying) Prussia. But in the end, everyone agreed to come very much thanks to Hungary and Switzerland's "persuasion".

* * *

><p>"Why must we take these old, horrid submarines?" Ian Kabra asked the Asians with spunk.<p>

"Yes," Natalie agreed with her brother. "I'm afraid that my outfit might get ruined by the rust and salty water — "

Im Yong Soo plugged his ears with his long sleeves before he could hear the next of the Kabra children's whining. They had not stopped ever since the group left London via Land Rover LRX. Now they were in at a sea port in the south of Spain, and Ian and Natalie have yet to put a sock in it.

* * *

><p>Alistair Oh was staring at the vast, crystal blue waters before him. On the island of Crete, it was rather windy. But he didn't mind; he had been invited here by his brethren of the Ekaterina branch. An e-mail was sent to him the previous night saying that he needed to report to Crete in Greece as soon as possible. There were no conditions attached to the message that said of any circumstances in such case that Alistair does not travel to Greece, but deep in his conscience he had a nagging feeling that he just <em>had<em> to go. So he did.

Now here he was, patiently waiting at the designated port. And yet, the one who sent to message was still not there.

Alistair checked his wristwatch. A quarter to five. Fifteen minutes. The Ekats had made him wait fifteen minutes longer than he had expected.

Alistair was beginning to think that this was all a hoax, a scam. He felt ridiculed, having been told to travel to a location halfway across the world and played for a fool once he got to there.

He was ready to back out on this when he recognized three awfully familiar faces coming towards him.

"Uncle Alistair?" "Uncle!" "Hey!"

The Starling triplets wore a creative mixture of confused and gleeful faces. But Alistair was just staring at them in disbelief. He blinked twice, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again. He wasn't imagining things, the three children were real and running towards him.

"You..." He was in a slight shock, but most definitely not at a complete lost for words. "Children, what are doing here?"

"We were just about to ask you the same thing, Uncle," the only girl of the three, Sinead, replied.

Alistair was dumbfounded. "Don't tell me...were you the Ekats who sent me that e-mail?"

"Eh?" the boys, Ned and Ted, said in unison.

Sinead was getting frantic. "What — but we — I give up." She hung her head and facepalm-ed.

"Yo, my peeps!"

The four Ekats turned their heads to the father-son duo approaching them. The teen-aged boy was waving as them as he flashed a bright smiled in the direction, and his father was busy button-smashing on his Blackberry.

"Broderick? And Jonah, my boy," Alistair said breathlessly once the Wizards came upon them. "What in the — "

"Chill, Uncle!" Jonah assured the man. "We're just here for some fan service."

"Fan service?" the Starlings asked simultaneously. "On the island of Crete?"

Broderick pocketed his phone and stepped in. "Well, I don't see any reason why you Ekats are here, too."

Sinead was about to argue with him, three heads popped out of three barrels nearby. Two blonds, and one brown-haired man. The tallest of the three raised his hand and addressed the confused Cahills.

"Pardon me," he said curtly. "But may we intrude?"

Everyone else was staring at them with wide eyes. "UH — "

"Don't worry," the man told them. "I'll explain everything."

**AND SOON AFTER~**

"_You_ were the one who sent us those e-mails?" Alistair and the Starlings yelled at Estonia.

Eduard frowned. "Why did you say it like it's _impossible_?"

"That's highly the case here," Sinead said. "I mean, how could you know our e-mail addresses in the first place? Only an extremely skilled Ekat — er, I mean, computer whiz would be able to trace our addresses!"

Eduard pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smirked. "There's more than meets the eyes, little girl."

Sinead looked taken aback, and she shrunk between her brothers.

"Wow, it looks like you guys have been hoaxed," Jonah said smugly.

Much to his displeasure, Lithuania cut in. "Um...I'm sorry, Mr. Wizard, sir. But...that text message and call from your _fan_ was...erm..."

Toris was fiddling with his fingers and staring down while Jonah and Broderick stared at him in bewilderment.

"WHAT?" father and son screamed at him with a thundering voice.

Alistair was stifling a laugh, but the Starling triplets made no effort whatsoever to suppress their laughter.

"Oh, the irony!" "It's simply killing me!" "Jonah's been hoaxed!"

The Wizard boy's ear were pink. He wanted to yelled at them, to shut them up, but instead he turned back to the Baltic Trio and asked them, "Tell me the truth! Were the text and call for real or not?"

"I'll, like, totally answered that for ya, Jonah!" said a girly voice from behind some crates. The crates concealed the person's body, though they can see a head of shoulder-length blond hair.

"Hey, you!" Broderick bellowed at the mystery person. "Come out here this instant!"

"Like, no prob!"

They expected some frantic blond girl to come at them. Alas, it was a man. IN A SKIRT.

"Like, omigawd~! It's actually you!" Poland squealed as he looked at Jonah.

The Cahills were too busy gawking at the androgynous individual to react in any other way.

Feliks placed his hands on his hips and pouted. "Are you, like, gonna stand there and stare at me, like, all day? Well, I totally don't, like, blame you anyhow~"

He threw his hair back and fluttered his eyes, causing the four Ekats and the Wizards to shrug and step back.

"DAMMIT!" Broderick screamed. "I want an immediate explanation!"

Just then, a flash of silver blinded Broderick. The next second, a quickly-as-lightning gust of air rushed past Broderick's left ear. Or at least what he _thought_ was a gust of air.

There was a loud thump from behind the Wizard man. Everyone turned their heads to the barrel Ned and Ted were seated. A shiny and ,surely, sharp knife was struck into it so hard that only the helm can be seen.

None of the Cahills had any time to scream or shriek when a large shadow was cast over them. It came from a woman at the top of the pile of crates from where Feliks had emerged earlier. She had long, silvery blond hair and poison purple eyes that could pierce the soul as deep as her knife had pierced the barrel. The two knives she held in each of her hands didn't lower the tension of the current situation.

It seemed that the Cahills were not the only ones who were scared of the woman. Eduard and Raivis were trembling like hell, and Feliks's face was pale with fright. Toris, on the other hand, kept his composure and spoke up.

"N-Natalia!" he beckoned the woman, and she looked at him. He flushed a bit and gulped, then continued. "Please don't hurt them!"

The woman ("Natalia", as what Toris called her) looked at him with a deadly glare for a moment, then placed the knives into the holsters on each of her legs. She then jumped down from the pile of crates and landed in front of Toris. Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, she told him, "I am the brawn of this section, and I would prefer it if you let me have my way for once."

"If we did, then probably we'd all be dead by now," the Latvian, Raivis, spoke out of turn. Again.

"_RAIVIS!_" the other two Baltic men scolded him.

But it was too late; Belarus had already grabbed Latvia by the collar and lifted him above her head, ready to throw him off the Cretan port they all stood upon.

As Eduard and Toris rushed to help Raivis, Feliks attended to the fear-stricken Cahills.

"Don't, like, totally mind them!" he told them, waving away the matter like it was nothing. He proceeded to rummage his pocket and soon took out what looked like the mere keys to a car attached to its remote control. Everyone thought so until the Pole pushed a button, and a submarine slowly rose out of the water a few meters offshore.

"So, in the meantime, how about we all go in the sub?" Feliks asked them casually with a wide grin.

* * *

><p>"This — is — so — AWESOME!"<p>

Dan couldn't keep it in his system for another second. He just had to let it out. And creep the hell out of the people around him. Again.

And as much as Amy wanted to call him a dweeb, she herself was fascinated by the ancient submarine she, Dan, Nellie, and the Nordics were in.

After getting of Berwald's IKEA plane somewhere outside Monaco, they went into the city and down to the port to board the current vessel they are taking to get to the World Summit. Arvid and Berwald were the captains of the submarines, and thus took charge and went to the control while everyone else had to stay in the passenger area.

In said area were various maps and charts either taped or glued to the walls. It may stink like a hobo's butt, but Amy loved it.

Meanwhile, Dan was enjoying the bright, flashing lights around the sub as he listened to Mathias giving them an exclusive tour of the sub.

He pointed to a green, glowing circle on the wall. "And this here's the do-hickey that let's us know if there are any other ships and subs in the area."

"Um, Mathias?" Dan began. "I'm not exactly an expert on submarines and stuff, but...I think that's called a radar."

Mathias stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then recovered his composure. "Uh...yeah! I-I knew that..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning in a silly way.

.o.o.o.o.o.

"Natalie, please stop checking your appearance in that fiberglass," Ian scolded his sister, although it sounded a tad bit smug.

Natalie abruptly stopped, turned and glared him. She then put her hands on her hips and "Ian, please _do_ stop admiring yourself in that radar glass."

At the seats up front, Vietnam and Taiwan did simultaneous facepalms.

"How did we get stuck with them..." Vietnam groaned.

Taiwan was on the verge of pouncing at the Kabras and wringing their throats dry. "Why didn't Yao let us capture Dan and Amy instead...?"

* * *

><p>"Like, omigawd~", Poland exclaimed. "This chapter's, like, totally too short!"<p>

The others were silent until Lithuania spoke up. "Um...how about some crack?"

The other Baltics, the Asians, the Germans, Hungary, and the Nordics all stared at him like he was a crazy man. "Are you effing kidding us?"

On other hand, Denmark, South Korea, and Prussia jumped for joy and cheered loudly. "OH YEAH! CRACK FOR THE WIN~!"

Everyone else groaned and facepalm-ed.

"Why must we do this?" Roderich asked the group.

"That's because our series is easily abused!" South Korea remarked.

"And a fun one to do so, at that!" Denmark added, grinning childishly with Prussia.

Seriously pissed off, Norway, Hungary, and Asian girls stepped in. Norway punched and slapped Denmark; Hungary hit Prussia in the nuts with her frying pan; and Vietnam and Taiwan each slapped South Korea before telling him on his older brother (who, apparently, couldn't care any less).

* * *

><p>Some crack never hurt, right? Ehehe...Anyways~! Just finished reading <em>Vespers Rising<em> (had to beg to me mum to let me buy it), and it was MARVELOUS. The first two chapters showed so much of the Family genre (I adore this genre despite its rarity), and Jude Watson's part (last part; present day with Amy and Dan) made me love Dan more than ever. 3333

"_CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH_" xDDDDD


	7. The Past, Haunting

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p><strong>| A few days before... |<strong>

Everything in sight was burning. The walls, the furniture, and even the people. Hundreds were running past, only few to look back and help those who were trapped beneath the debris. And, bless their hearts, there were even those who carried the dead either over their shoulders, on their backs, or in their arms.

Their desperate cries for help flooded England's mind. He wanted to come to his people's aid as well, but he was being pulled away by his men.

"Sir Kirkland! We must go now!"

"NO! Release me at once!"

"But sir — _SIR!_"

Arthur freed himself from his men and sprinted towards the flames. He dodged the frantic crowd escaping the scene and came upon another horrid one. St. Paul's Cathedral was a burning wreck, yet there were still people who stayed to put out the flames. They probably knew it was inevitable, but no one was ready to lose the pride and joy of the city.

"You!" he said to the men attempting to put out the fire with buckets of water. "Are there still any people inside?"

"N-not that we know of, sir!" replied one of the men.

"Did you check twice?" England asked the men again.

"Er...no, sir," another said awkwardly. "We were in a hurry to get out."

"_THE HELL WITH THAT!_" the Brit suddenly swore loudly, shocking all those who heard him.

The men were just about to apologize when England rushed into the burning cathedral.

Arthur could hear the fleeting cries of the people outside, telling him to come back. But he pushed on and searched for any survivors among the wreckage. Moments later, a common street dog ran up to him and tugged on his cloak.

"AH! What are you doing?"

He kept resisting until he realized that the animal was pulling him into a certain section of the cathedral.

"Y-you...want me to follow you?" he asked the dog in a shaky voice. "I-is that it?"

The dog barked, and ran away. Arthur gaited on it, dodging beams and falling debris and staying clear of the flames. He kept doing that until the dog lead him to a dead end with one wall unscathed by the fire.

"A dead end! Why did you lead me to a dead end — "

He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the dog barking at and scratching on one of the walls.

"...is someone there...?" England heard a parched voice say from the other side of the unscathed wall.

Taking a closer look, he saw that it wasn't a wall, but in fact a makeshift wall built from fallen debris. There was a small gap in the 'wall', and Arthur peeked in. On the other side was a boy, more or less the age of fifteen. He was also peeping through the gap, staring straight into the emerald eyes of the Brit.

"K-kind sir..." the boy pleaded, his voice shaking. "Please..."

"Don't worry, lad! I shall get you out of there!" And Arthur started to push away some of the debris. One by one they got cleared, but it only made even more debris come raining down. The situation was just getting worse at this point.

_No!_ England screamed in his mind. _I am not leaving this boy here!_

"S-sir..." he heard the boy mutter.

Arthur stopped removing the debris and paid attention. "W-what is it, boy?"

"...you must leave."

England's eyes grew wide at him. " — what?"

"Sir, if you do not leave now..." The boy's voice was cracking and growing softer. "you might die."

"The bloody hell with that!" Arthur swore aloud. Right now, he couldn't care anymore if he was in a church (or the ruins of it). "I refuse to leave you here!"

Just then, there was the gradual cracking sound coming from above. England feared the worst, and prayed with all his heart for it not to happen.

But it still came. The burning support beams above them were crashing down on them, and fast. Arthur instinctively rolled to the side, narrowly escaping the falling, burning debris.

After analyzing the current event, he saw that the makeshift wall of debris where the boy had been trapped behind was no longer visible behind the fallen support beams that just crashed down. It was all raging fire that ate up and destroyed everything in its path, including the boy and the dog.

His eyes were swelling up, not from the heat but from the tragedy before him. His throat was parched and lodged with a lump that could choke oneself. England's knees gave away, and he let fresh, hot tears roll down his cheeks as he watched what would have been a bright future for one young man.

Soon, he was hearing screaming from behind him. The voices of the men saving the church and of his own men were quickly coming closer. Arthur did have not to look back to know that eight men were running towards him, and were later dragging him out with all their might.

"Sir Kirkland! Please come with us!"

"_NOOOO! LEAVE ME BE, YOU BLOODY GITS!_"

"_SIR KIRKLAND!_"

"_I SAID, LEAVE ME BE!_"

" — _ANGLIYA!_" "_ANGLETERRE!_" "_Y__Ī__NGG__É__L__Á__N!_"

"_...what...?_"

"_I-IGGY! HEY, IGGY!_"

...**Iggy**...?

"_GODDAMMIT, IGGY! WAKE UP ALREADY!_"

Arthur woke up to find the four other members of the Allied Forces standing around his bed. Alfred was gripping his shoulders and vigorously shaking him with no end even after Arthur came to.

"A-America! Stop that, you bloody git!" England yelled, pushing himself away from his former colony. He looked at the others gathered around him, all having worried expressions on their faces. "What...what happened to me...?"

"You kept screaming and moaning for the past hour, _mon cher_," France broke it to him.

"At first we thought you were just havin' some perverted dream about being banged," America said, earning himself glares from all around.

"But when you started yelling about a fire and saving someone," China interjected. "we knew it was serious, aru."

Russia gave England a weak smile that sent shivers down the Brit's spine. "_Eto normalʹno, Angliya_." He patted England on the back while speaking innocently. "It was all just a nightmare. I get them quite a lot, actually."

China and France nodded in agreement. "_Oui, oui_." "That's right, aru!"

America let out a boisterous laugh and told everyone, "I once had a dream about my Civil War. It wasn't pretty, I'll tell you that." He then ruffled England's hair and gave him a wink. "It's okay now, Iggy! Those are just things of the past now, amirite?"

He usually won't take the American's words into account, but now it was one of his only comforts. England felt the warmth of being surrounded by his fellow nations, whom he may not exactly get along with very well or even trust that fully (but they were his allies for more than just the times in the Second World War). He let a smile slip out, at least letting the others know that he's fine. For now.

England continued to have the nightmares for the rest of the night. After getting put back to sleep by the Allies, he no longer screamed nor moaned. Instead, he woke up covered in cold sweat and breathing heavily. This happened for at least thrice before the hour of five in the morning.

When he woke up at around half past eight, he found himself alone in the room. England concurred that all the others must have woken up earlier and had already left for breakfast. He decided to do the same, and he got of out his bed and fixed himself.

With his newly-tailored brown business suit on, he walked out of the Allied Forces' quarters and down the hall to the dining room. There, he found the Allied Forces and the Axis Powers seated around a long, wooden table topped with various breakfasts of different cultures. They all momentarily stopped eating to greet the Englishman, then returned to their meals. America beckoned England to sit beside him, but he quickly rushed to the seat next to Kiku once he saw the (fat-filled) breakfast the American had cooked for him. Feeling a bit more comfortable with the full English breakfast Kiku had prepared him, he dug in and made himself full and energized before the first meeting of the day.

Half an hour before the meeting, the nations dawdled and chatted away. Meanwhile, England stood before the long windows spilling warm, bright morning sunlight into the meeting room. He was silently witnessing the ever-busy cityscape of his capital — London — until he suddenly felt a hand rest upon his shoulder. England turned his head to see Japan looking at him worriedly.

"Igirisu-san..." the Japanese man began, but was deliberately stopped when the Englishman averted his gaze and turned back to the cityscape outside.

"I'm fine, Japan," England told him softly. "You need not to worry."

"Hey," France said from behind them, making both men look at him. "If you two lovebirds are done with your sweet little scene, would you care to join us?"

While Japan stood there, frozen and blushing like a massive tomato, England lunged at France while swearing at him with harsh English swears, some of which France could even remember being thrown at him all the way back to the Dark Ages. It took the combined manpower of Germany and America to break them apart.

"You bloody git!" England screamed while he struggled out of America's hold. "Why do you always have to — "

"Ruin the moment~?" France said teasingly, and winced when Germany strengthened his hold on him. "I was merely calling you to the meeting, _mon petit lapin_~"

"Calling me, my Damn. Gentleman. Arse!"

At that, America almost lost his grip on England when the Brit just snapped and went on a rampage. Luckily for Germany and America, someone rose their voice to stop the mayhem.

"STOP IT, ARU!" China yelled at the French and the Brit. The volume and sternness of his voice not only shocked the two, but practically the other seven nations in the room. And for a second, they even thought it sounded MANLY. China. His voice. Being MANLY. The world was going to end, alright.

"EH? China?"

China sighed heavily as he rubbed his throbbing temple. "For the love of Mao, can we _please_ have a meeting without having our petty quarrels get in the way beforehand?"

After getting scolded by China, France and England ended their 'petty quarrel' and everyone proceeded to their respective seats along the meeting table. The Frenchman and the Englishman were seated far away from each other, just in case.

The next two hours were filled with arguments and counterarguments regarding the Cahills, and their impact on the world and its history. For the most part, Russia was smiling in his usual innocent-but-creepy way, but this time it had a hint of thriving vengeance and restless anger. Even Germany shrugged when he glanced at Russia for more than five seconds.

Much later, America stood up and said, "Alright everyone! That should be about it, so..." A wide smile almost immediately appeared on his face as he stated his next sentence. "How 'bout we go to Mickey D's for lunch? My treat~!"

" — _WAIT!_"

All heads turned to the man seated beside Japan; England had stood up with his head down and his hands placed firmly on the table.

"Ve, _Inghilterra_?" a confused Italy asked him.

Pretty much all the other nations were just as dumbfounded as Italy.

"Hey, Iggy," America spoke to him. "What's up?"

England took a deep breath and stated his business. "I-I..." He rose his voice when he said the remaining parts of his sentence. "I WANT TO RELOCATE THE MEETING!"

"EH?" "What the — " "_WAS_?" "_Nanidesu ka..._?"

"Meeting? Dude, we just finished — " America never got to finish his sentence by the time England spoke up.

"America, you git!" England swore at him. "I mean, the meeting tomorrow! I...I want to change the venue."

Russia stepped forward and said his part. "But _Angliya_, the others had already been dispatched, _da_?" He then flashed England a seemingly innocent smile which made the Brit retreat a few steps back.

"_Russland's_ right, _Britannien_," Germany told him. "And why did you make this kind of decision right now?"

England was taken aback. He avoided the curious stares shot at him by most of the group. "Um...I..."

"Ah~ I think I know the problem here," France said confidently. "This has something to do with your nightmare, hasn't it, _Angleterre_?"

America, seeing a chance to embarrass England, had spoken up. "Dude, don't tell me that a little nightmare scared you that much!"

He and France were now laughing with pride over unveiling what they thought was England's 'dirty, little secret'.

England's ear madly turned pink as he snapped at the two. "S-shut up!"

The whole room stilled after he screamed like that.

His chest was heaving restlessly and his blood pressure was surely rising fast, but he had to do something about the current situation.

"Alright, I admit it! My nightmare scared me into rethinking about the venue of tomorrow's meeting!"

England slumped in his chair and buried his face in his hands, trying to hide his flushed face.

"Those flames...they devoured anything and everything standing in their way..." He fought back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "I felt my stomach churn every time I think about it and the meeting at once...and I-I just can't risk something like that to happen again..."

Suddenly, England felt a pair of arms wrapped around him. Then, it was two. Three. Four. And soon, the other seven nations were huddled up together around the Brit.

"Ve~ _Inghilterra_, it's okay, it's okay! Everybody is here for you, see~?" Italy, probably one of the first ones to hug England, said with a warm smile.

Germany sighed heavily and said, "This is kind of awkward for me..."

"A-ah, I agree, _Doitsu-san_," Japan told him, enduring the bone-crushing weight of Russia's body.

"Can we get out of this hug now?" China asked the group. "I-I think France is molesting me again!"

"Yeah!" America agreed. "And I'm starving! Lunch time, please~!"

Once everyone broke away from each other, England was still left on his chair, but now with a lighter heart. He wiped away the tears he wept, and faced the rest as Germany spoke.

"So it's decided..." the German concurred. "The venue shall be changed from — "

"IGGY'S VITAL REGIONS!" America suddenly burst out with glee, causing everyone to stare at him weirdly.

German continued. "Ahem — yes. And it shall be moved to..."

The group turned to England, who was smirking.

"Not to worry," he said. "I've already found the perfect place for our _World Summit_."

* * *

><p>"<em>EEEEEK!<em>"

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea rushed to the source of the shriek. They saw Natalie madly shaking as she hid behind her brother.

"Oi, what happened here?" Taiwan asked them domineeringly.

Natalie pointed to the porthole, showing different fishes swimming the deep blue sea. The three Asians slowly cocked their heads to the side and raised their brows.

"Hm...?"

"I don't see anything there," Taiwan stated, crossing her arms and glaring at the Kabra girl.

"A-a girl!" Natalie stammered. "I-I swear I saw a girl out in the water! She was swimming with a swordfish!"

The Asians exchanged skeptical looks at each other, then laughed.

"What's so funny?" Natalie asked them, not daring to blush.

Due to too much laughing, Taiwan held her aching stomach as she spoke. "There's no way there could have been a girl swimming out there!"

"And besides," South Korea said. "Seychelles lives in the _Indian_ Ocean. There's no in hell's way she could've taken this route to the World Summit. She would have at least — "

Just in time, Hong Kong stuffed a pork bun into Yong Soo's mouth. Then, he kicked the Korean down to the ground and whispered into his ear, "You've said too much."

* * *

><p>"...In the dark, murky waters of the Lake of Ness lies a creature so fearsome, so dangerous...that even the Vikings went running for the hills after seeing it! It is called" — Denmark held the flashlight right below his chin, making his face look as pale as a cloudy sky and as scary as your grandmother's backside — "the Loch Ness monsteeeeer!" He then made fake ghost sounds and monster noises.<p>

"Are you telling them that silly story again, Mathias?" Norway interrupted the laughter of Amy, Dan, Nellie, and Denmark when he opened the door to their joint. Light from the control room spilled into the dark passenger's section of the submarine.

Mathias turned off the flashlight and raised his brow at the Norge. "Aw, c'mon, Arv! You're just jealous of _Skotland _for having Nessie!"

"I don't need a non-existent creature to attract tourists to my home, thank you very much," Arvid told him curtly.

"You don't believe in Nessie, Arvid?" Dan asked him.

The Norge shook his head. "I have yet to see it. Seeing is believing, after all," he said with a devious smirk.

* * *

><p>"<em>You can do what you want 'cause a pirate is free, you are a pirate~!<em>" Prussia sang as he swung his arm across Eisenhower's shoulders. He hiccuped, then said, "Argh, me mateys! Ye go walk the plank!"

Just as Eisenhower was going to use one of his boasted wrestling moves on Gilbert, Elizabeta swooped in and smacked the Prussian with her frying pan. He fell back on his chair, knocking his beer glass into the air in the process. At this time, Vash ran for it and caught the glass just before it could meet the metal floor of the sub.

"I knew we should have checked to see if there was any beer in the cooler!" Hungary exclaimed. "And now look at this mess! Even my sweet Roddy is out cold!"

She spoke the truth. Once Prussia had gotten hold of the beer he found inside the cooler, utter mayhem struck. Now, numerous puddles of beer dotted the floor, the whole sub stunk of wasted Germans, and the only other person who knew how to pilot the submarine was unconscious.

"It's a good thing that Lili has some skills, right Vash?"

Switzerland's cheeks turned a bright pink at the mention of his sister being better at him with old war machines. He shook his head, trying to drive out the thoughts.

"Elizabeta, you try to wake up Roderich," he told Hungary as he walked up to the door of the control room. "I'll go and help Lili — "

" — Hold it right there, Vash Zwingli!" Elizabeta snapped at him, making him stop at mid-step. "You _stay here_ and help the Holts clean up this mess. I'm sure that Lili can handle a simple World War 1 submarine."

"But — "

Hungary glared at him, and Switzerland pretty much got the message. As he went to grab a mop and get started, the Hungarian carried her ex-husband in her arms and settled him beside Prussia. Taking a longer look at the two, malicious thoughts raced in her mind. In the end, she positioned Gilbert and Roderich in a bear hug and took a picture of them.

"Jackpot," she spoke to herself in a soft voice, together with a few "Ohohoho~"'s, a devilish smile, and a trickle of blood gently escaping her nose.

* * *

><p>Jonah watched the seascape outside as everyone in the passenger's section of the sub slept peacefully. He enjoyed this moment of peace with his father and fellow Cahills (despite being forced to tag along by complete strangers they've just met). The tranquil sea outside the porthole he looked through was filled with fish of different sizes and colors. It had all looked like one big painting of an underwater wonderland, expect that now he was seeing it up close and personal.<p>

The Wizard boy momentarily turned his attention away from the porthole and to the seat across him and his father.

Alistair Oh was not asleep like the rest. As a matter of fact, he was wide awake. Yes, he was tired from his journey from Seoul to Crete and also the current one, but he was also getting wary of his surroundings.

"Uncle Alistair?" he heard Jonah's voice from across the room.

Alistair turned to him and smiled weakly. "Yes, my boy?"

Jonah hesitated, but spoke up soon after. "...why aren't you catching your z's like everyone else?"

"Ah, well..." Alistair felt his insides squirm as he thought about the answer to the boy's question. He lowered his voice just enough so that only Jonah can hear him. "You see, Jonah, I can't sleep soundly when I feel like I'm being watched. Closely."

Jonah was slightly fazed. He stared around the room, and soon found the silvery blond-haired woman seated right behind his uncle. She was shooting daring at him whilst holding a real one in her hand. He tried to erase all thoughts of worse-case-scenarios, and decided to sleep as well.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> So, how was that? Um, well...I was just winging it here, so please don't kill me if I messed up any of the characters ( ^ ^ ;) About Prussia singing pirate songs...it seems that certain Prussians back then were part of the whole European pirate society, and I figured I'd show it here in my story. And why..._WHY_...do I always have the tendency to make Natalie so _uke _and helpless? AUGH! *hits self with a fish*

Okay, next thing up is...QUESTION~ Should I include recent, real-life events here? Please tell me what you think~!


	8. Insula Academiae

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p><em>[ Norway? Come in, Norway. ]<em> England spoke into the microphone.

_[ Roger that, England. ]_ the Norge on the other line replied. _[ Anything new? ]_

_[ Yes. Now... ]_ The Brit reached out for the piece of paper on the other side of his desk and examined it. _[ I'll need you and Sweden to bank your unit at Port D. ]_

_[ The n'rtheast'rn s'de of th' isl'nd? ]_ Sweden asked him.

_[ Exactly. ]_ England said.

* * *

><p>"WOOHOO!" Denmark cheered once he closed the control room door behind him. "Arv and Waldy say that we're almost there!"<p>

_I will never get used to that nickname_, Finland thought as a drop of sweat rolled down his temple.

"Oh yeah!" Dan and Nellie woot-ed, pumping their fists into the air.

"No offense, Matthias, but..." Nellie began. "I can't wait to get out of this old, rusty submarine!"

* * *

><p>Their submarine lurched forwards, backwards and practically in every direction imaginable when the Eastern Europeans, Ekats, and Wizards were nearly to the island. The passenger's section was filled with panicked, screaming children, and the nations were no way in a better condition. Poland did a subtly bad comment on Belarus' complexion, and it went haywire from there. While Lithuania and Estonia were trying to break them up, poor Raivis was expected to pilot the old, worn down sub in a control filled with homicidal maniacs and frantic relatives.<p>

"GAH! _Baltarusija_! _Lenkija_!" Toris screamed while he was getting crushed by the two nations he was pitted against. "QUIT IT, YOU GUYS!"

Eduard was holding back Feliks because he was too afraid to even go near Natalia in this state (who _wouldn't_ be?). "This is going nowhere! Either of them has to give it up sometime!"

Natalia let out a low, maniacal laugh as she reached out her arms and attempted to claw off the Pole's face. "_Zabić* zabić zabić zabić zabić zabić...!_"

"_Ty czarownico**_!" Feliks shrieked, putting as much distance between himself and the crazy woman. "Like, get away from me!"

Back in the passenger's section, the Cahills were hearing most of the Eastern European's conversation. And just when they thought it couldn't get any louder...

"_OMIGAWD! SHE, LIKE, TOTALLY STABBED ME!_"

* * *

><p>"<em>Uli ga dochag haesseubnida<em>, daze~!" South Korea cheered, raising his floppy, over-sized sleeves into the air. "We've arrived, daze~!"

While he was gleefully jumping on the olden port of the island, the other Asians were helping the Kabra children out of the submarine. With the 'ladies first' rule, Natalie was the first to come out. She was hoisted out of the sub by Hong Kong, and later earned a cold glare from Taiwan. Then, Ian was pulled out by Thailand and Vietnam. They may have gotten carried away, though, because they managed to put so much muscle into it that Ian ended up in a tree nearby. So as the two went to rescue him from the Quercus Ilex tree, the rest of the group followed them away from the port.

"Get me down this instant!" the Kabra boy cried out, hanging in an upside-down position on a thick branch more than fifteen feet above the ground. "HEY!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're coming to get you," Vietnam drawled as she stood right beneath him. With her hands on hips, a smug smirk on her face, and Thailand staring blankly at the crybaby Kabra, Vietnam felt proud of herself.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch me all day," Ian said, irritated. "Or are you going to get me down?"

The smirk of Vietnam's face grew wide and more sinister. "Nah, I'm just going to cherish this moment."

And thus, Ian spat out almost every swear word in the British dictionary at the Vietnamese woman while she watched the enraged, dangling teen with pleasure.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had just caught up to them. Upon witnessing Ian's predicament, none of them managed to suppress even a giggle.

"Excellent," Hong Kong muttered and smirked as he took out his camera. "More blackmail."

* * *

><p>"I...I..." The Austrian was out of breath half a mile away from the port. He was starting to sweat like a pig and breathe shorter breaths. "I can't take this any longer...!"<p>

The Holts were bombarding him with insults ever since he began to slow down.

"What a wuss!" "WIMP!" "Aw c'mon!"

"Being prissy for a couple of decades has made you ultimately weak, Roddy!" Prussia jeered as he effortlessly jogged back to be walking beside the Austrian. "Especially since you and Lizzie divorced! Ahahaha!"

This time, Gilbert was ready. He knew Hungary would quickly take out her frying pan and smack him unconscious, but now he was ready for it. Just as she lunged herself at him, he ducked down. In the process, Austria was hit squarely in the face and knocked down to the ground — as if he needed that to be done.

"Oh my — _RODDY!_"

As Elizabeta rushed to Roderich's aid, Gilbert had already dashed away to the nearby town up the steep hill they were trekking on. Sensing the tension, the Holt family gaited on him.

* * *

><p>A number of nations arrived that day at the island. The eight of them — the miraculous combination of the Axis Powers and Allied Forces — had sent invitations to almost everyone in the United Nations. Japan was even shocked to see some micro-nations to show up (Sealand sneaked up on him from behind with a glomp, Seborga was seen with the Italies, and Australia and New Zealand were seen pestering Wy).<p>

He, along with Italy and America, was left in-charge of greeting the incoming nations. The three of them shooks hands, gave or were given hugs, and (in Italy's case) kissing cheeks. Well, no one could blame a passionate country like Italy for acting like that.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the venue was a large and dark room where dozens of monitors showed live videos of surveillance cameras stationed at every nook and cranny on the island. Russia, China, and France were carefully eying the monitors for any suspicious behavior among the other nations (excluding their usual anomalies) and their 'Cahill guests'. Ever since they were assigned to this station, the three countries had been at it for more than five hours already. With no breaks other than going to the bathroom, it was tiring and painstaking.

In the main meeting room were Germany and England going over the itinerary for the meeting. The room was cleaned and ready for the event thanks to the efforts of everyone. It wasn't easy cleaning an academy cleaning spanning roughly the same size of the Buckingham Palace, let alone swabbing the place spotless overnight. And from their experience, all eight nations never wanted to go through it ever again.

Just as they about to finish their turn for the hour, "God Save the Queen" was playing on England's cellphone. He answered it to found out it was France.

[ _Angleterre_, they are almost upon us. ] Francis told him.

"That's good. Germany and I had just finished," Arthur said. "Now, please do inform the others and tell everyone to proceed to the room."

[ _Oui, oui_. ] the Frenchman mused before hanging up.

* * *

><p>"Woah," the Starling Triplets breathlessly said as they twirled on the spot, scanning the olden town square. Even Alistair was knocked speechless by the sight.<p>

The town was barren and ancient-looking. It's design appeared to be based on Ancient Mediterranean architecture, right down to the intricate designs on the walls and pillars. Jonah even noticed a few worn but readable Latin markings on some walls.

"'_Pasta fac non bellum_'_._..?" the Wizard boy slowly read it, squinting his eyes at the confusing text.

"'Make pasta, not war'," Alistair said from behind him. He laughed at either the translation or Jonah's sudden and slight retreat (probably both).

"Interesting," the Korean man said, smiling to himself. "It makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

* * *

><p>Two Cahill children, their <em>au pair<em>, and an Egyptian Mau were standing in front of two large, wooden doors adorned with gold and bronze. Above these were letters worn through the ages, spelling out the words "Southwest Gate". As the three Madrigals gaped at the doors (Saladin was clawing Dan's leg in a "Gimme mah tuna!" way), Sweden and Finland were at the gigantic bronze knockers, huge enough to conflict Prussia's ego.

Tino grabbed one of the rings and tried to lift it, but it was all in vain. Berwald stepped in and rapped a bronze ring with ease, causing his Finnish "wife" to tense up. As soon as the loud pang of the bronze knockers echoed around them, a hoarse, domineering voice spoke out of nowhere.

"_Who dares to knock upon the doors of the United Nations?_"

Denmark cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Quit it, Al! You _know_ it's just us!"

"..._Aw, c'mon dude! Why do you have to spoil my fun?_" the voice whined in a different tone, one of which was energized and hyper.

After that, the doors slowly opened. The voice grumbled something before the Nordics and the Madrigals began to walk inside the threshold.

"_Hmp, darn Mattie..._"

* * *

><p>The unnamed academy (or at least that's what the Nordics told Dan, Amy, and Nellie) was perch atop the seemingly high hill on the island. You can pretty much see the whole place from there; it loomed over lush forests and ports stationed all around the land mass. The woods were so noisy and frantic that you'd be right if you guessed that it is teeming with wildlife. Flocks of birds flew in unusual formations above their heads (Amy was dumbfounded if those storks really <em>were<em> flying in a swastika-like formation). If not for the old, abandoned town downhill, the island would be paradise.

On the outside the academy, it looked like a classical-style castle painting in white and cream. It was large, all right, and sent shivers down the spines of those who stand beneath it shadow.

Inside, it was grand and beautiful like nothing Amy, Dan, and Nellie had ever since. Even more than all the places they went to during to the Clue Hunt. With its shiny marble floors, expensive golden chandeliers, smooth porcelain walls, high ceilings, and long windows, the sight almost blinded them.

"And the United Nations have their meetings here?" Amy asked the Nordics bewilderedly.

Berwald grumbled a reply, Tino nodded and smiled, Mathias answered with a "Heck yeah!", Arvid said "On rare occasions, we do.", and Nièl was busy pulling Puffin off his head to reply properly.

Dan stopped in his tracks and gaped at them. "Mocha fudgin' nut of a brownie — NO WAY."

"Way cool," Nellie confirmed with a satisfied nod. She wore a disturbed expression with a smirk, a face that gave the impression that she'd seen a ghost. "Waaaaaay cool."

A couple more minutes down the hall they stopped in front of two white doors. The Nordics instructed Dan, Amy, and Nellie to wait for them in the room behind the doors, and they'd be back soon after.

"Like how soon?" Amy pondered aloud in a worried tone, more or less addressing Arvid.

Norway looked a her with a blank expression and said dully, "Just soon."

Dan wasn't even finished saying "but" when Mathias pulled him, Amy, and Nellie into a giant hug.

"Hey, hey, stop worrying you guys!" he laughed, unaware that he was practically choking the three Madrigals. "We'll be seeing each other soon enough!"

Sweden suddenly appeared behind Denmark, glaring at the back of his head and pressing a forceful hand onto the Dane's shoulder. A drop of sweat rolled down Mathias's temple, he tensed up, and released the people locked in his arms.

Denmark turned back to Sweden, rubbing his shoulder and defiantly glaring at Berwald. "Hehe," he laughed darkly. "_Sve_, you bastard..."

As Finland and Norway were about to cut in between, a small boy appeared at the doorway. He was young and blond, dressed in a blue sailor suit, and holding a petite, white puppy in his hands. He beaming at them all with a toothy smile as he screamed each of the Nordic's names.

"Mum! Dad!" he yelled excitedly at Tino and Berwald, causing Finland to stutter a "P-Peter!" and Sweden's to turn a slight rosy shade.

"Everyone, I'm so glad that you're back!" Sealand told the whole group. He whipped his head at Dan, Amy, and Nellie and his face lit up. "Oh! And you brought another lot!"

Sweden quickly rushed forward and swung the young principality over his shoulder and carried him outside. In the process, the puppy flew out of Peter's hands, and only for Finland to catch the pup in his arms.

"B-Berwald! Wait for me!"

The rest of the people in the room watched with an air of oddity as the three-man-and-one-dog family went outside. Once Tino's frantic voice was heard no more, Mathias, Dan, and Nellie burst out laughing.

"Who were those guys?" Amy asked Nièl, who answered her with a droning voice.

"The pup is named Hanatamago, considered more family member than pet."

"And the boy?"

"Peter Kirkland, Berwald and Tino's love child."

It seemed that Denmark had heard this, because he almost immediately laughed louder. Dan and Nellie were clutching their stomachs, and even Norway couldn't suppress a slight smirk.

* * *

><p>The boy was sitting on the floor before the coffee table, reading comics in different languages and styles, while his sister sat on one of the armchairs around the table and their au pair lay in on the sofa, mouthing the lyrics of what seemed to be a punk song.<p>

Amy looked at her phone, and its clock said "04:37 PM". She told Dan about it, and he responded by dropping his head onto the table. Nellie's body didn't move in the slightest way, not with the loud music pumping into her ears.

"They've been gone for two hours!" Dan whined, his head still face-down on the coffee table strewn with comic books. He turned his head a bit, and looked at Amy with a doubtful face.

She wanted to reassure him, even if it wasn't even true. And that he _knew_ that it wasn't true.

Amy pushed herself to give him a weak smile and softly said, "They'll come. We've just to wait a little longer, that's all."

Dan didn't looked that reassured at all. He turned his head face-down on the table once more and muttered, "And just when I began to trust someone..."

"_We will, we will, ROCK YOU!_ YEEEAAAH!" Nellie suddenly screeched. Dan and Amy stared at her for a moment, then let it slip. This was Nellie, anyway. Good ol', awesome Nellie.

* * *

><p>Dan had read the last page of the last comic book he dug out of the coffee table. Now, he was bored again. He sighed, and began to clean up the mess atop the table (something Amy was shocked to see). As he reached out to grab one of the comic books he accidental knocked over the vase, revealing a red button cleverly concealed underneath. Half a second of panic processed in his mind, and then the rest was intrigue. Dan was tempted to press the button (with or without Amy andor Nellie's knowledge), but he knew better. Months of traps and secrets taught him to be more cautious, if not to level his curiosity.

"What...DAN, NO!"

LOL I WAS JUST KIDDING ABOUT THE "BEING MORE CAUTIOUS" PART.

Amy screamed, being witness to her idiot brother attempting to press a red button. And everyone knows that red buttons mean SERIOUS BUSINESS. She prayed to God that if he gets away with it, she'll wring his throat dry.

Dan got away with it.

* * *

><p>The floor beneath them began to rumble. Nellie had snapped out of her nirvana and was staring at the two Cahills with a horror-stricken face. Amy was too panicked at the moment to soot daggers at Dan, and he was filled with too much regret to even think straight. After seconds of shaking, the room was still. Nothing more than the soft chiming of the shaken chandelier above and the heavy breaths of the Madrigals who've clung onto their seats for dear life.<p>

"DAN WHAT DID YOU PRESS THIS TIME," Amy and Nellie scolded him, accompanied by equally cold glares and scrunched-up faces.

"Um...maybe it was just..." He didn't know what to say, so he just spat out the first word that came into his mind. "...an earthquake simulator?"

Everyone wished it was, because the floor suddenly flipped upside-down and sent them down a steep chute.

* * *

><p>Ned, Ted, and Sinead would have squealed and whee-d if the ride wasn't so horrifyingly thrilling. Sliding down the chute behind them were Alistair, Jonah, and Broderick. Ned, Ted, Jonah, and Broderick were swearing loudly in English while Alistair was doing so in Korean. Sinead, on the other hand, was used to that Polish transvestite's Valley Girl speak so she was screaming with "LIKE — OMIGOD" and "HOLY MOTHER OF PINK PONIES — ".<p>

* * *

><p>The chute was dark and damp. Natalie was hoping that no dirt would get her clothes in a mess. Again.<p>

Ten seconds into the fall, Ian was sick of hearing his sister's screaming. Then, he hit against a wall and was whiplashed straight to his right. The fall had taken a great turn and they were now sliding at unimaginable speeds.

* * *

><p>"<em>WEH!<em>"

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_"

"OHMYGOD_—__ NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_"

These were the kind of screams heard from the long, steep chutes beneath the academy. Back on the ground floor, the nations were filing into ten different elevators that would take them five levels underground — the "Emergency Meeting Room".

No one could stop Greece and Turkey's rambling, Egypt's indifference to the previous two, Hongkong's secret plan to drop a small explosive down England's pants, Cuba and Netherlands' smoking, Romano's whining (to Spain's "parental affection" for him), Switzerland lecturing Liechtenstein about the "dangers of being around an Austrian" (and the said country's debate to it), nor Hungary and Taiwan going around and taking random pictures of everyone.

"I swear to God," America told Japan as they ushered ten or so countries into an elevator. "I'll never volunteer for this post ever again."

Japan cracked a small smile as he pushed a series of buttons causing the elevator doors to close and send them down. "It is quite a lot to handle, right America-san?"

* * *

><p>The trip — or "chute ride from hell", as Dan put it — felt like an hour. They'd been falling, sliding, and turning corners at unexpected moments for quite a matter time. There seemed to be a wind that kept whipping past them, flooding their ears with noise. And the whole thing was making Amy nauseous.<p>

"Is there even an end to this thing?" Nellie bellowed, her voice bouncing off the metal walls of the chute.

And just as she had said it, Dan spotted a small, faint light coming from further down the chute. Then at the last moment, they took another turn and — like a water slide — thrown out of the dark chute and up into the air. All three of them screamed as they stood airborne for some seconds until they dropped to the floor. The funniest thing was not the awkward ride they'd just taken nor the ever more awkward exit from said ride, but the 'floor' they landed on. From the sounded of several groaning and panicked voices, it felt like there were more than fifteen people around them. Then there was no light, so Dan could only estimate the number to only that much.

"DAN! Where are you?" he heard Amy's voice not far from his position. He wanted to move and search for her, but someone heavy was lying on top of him.

He pushed that person by their chest and tried to heave them up. "Hey! Get off me!"

As Dan struggled, he heard numerous familiar voices all around him.

"I can't see!" "It's so dark!" "Ned! Ted! Where in the world are you two?" "Oh, my gut! Get off me, you heavy oaf!"

They were all _too_ familiar.

* * *

><p>As each Cahill fought off those blocking their way to find their own allies, the ceiling above them split in two and diverged from each other, letting a blinding white light spill into the dark abyss below. The floor beneath began to tremble, and it rose like a platform taking them up into the light. Moment by moment, each of them recognized one another. Names were said, gasped, and screamed. They would turn from family member to another, slowly taking in the sudden reunion.<p>

"What's the meaning of this?" Sinead asked them loudly. "What the heck is going on here?"

"Hey, calm down, sis..." her twin brothers told her softly.

"Why should we know?" Ian spoke up. "We were taken here against our will!"

"And by some strange Asian people!" Natalie added. "Who were probably part of some mafia or something!"

A loud clanking sound came about and the platform came to a stop. Everyone soon realized that they had been elevated to a new room which gave off the impression of being a high-security military base training room. They were in the center of a cold, octagon-shaped room, dimly-lit by small lanterns hung on each of its eight walls. Above them and all around the room were viewing rooms with highly-tinted windows, concealing the audience behind them. At each side of the room were metal doors marked from 1 to 8 and a country's flag on a metal plaque right above each door.

"W-where are we?" Amy stammered, slowly scanning the room with her eyes.

"I don't know what the heck is going on here," Eisenhower Holt said, grabbing his wife's hand as she grabbed each of their children's hands, and began to walk away from the rest. "But I'm not going to stay here for any longer!"

Suddenly, the eight doors around the room slid open, blinding them all with bright light coming from the outside. At each door stood a person whose shadow spread all the way to the center of the room, looming over the Cahills.

"I'm afraid that you cannot leave yet, Mr. Holt," said an Englishman's voice from the door that was marked with the number five.

Eisenhower, quite a bit shocked, retreated a step or two and strengthened the grip on his wife's hand. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his face as he gulped.

"Oh yeah?" Eisenhower yelled at the man. "You and what army?"

Despite the dimness, he could see the devilish smirk spread across the man's face.

"This army," the man said, and with a snap of his fingers the windows of the upper rooms lost their tint, revealing more than half a hundred people within them.

The Cahills stood in the center of the room with gaping mouths and horrified faces as the people in the upper rooms were pointing and waving at them.

"AH!"

Amy, Dan, and Nellie were staring at the five men who took them here in the first place. The Nordics were staring down at them: Tino and Iceland were wearing worried faces, Sweden and Norway had neutral expressions, and Denmark was happily waving at the three Madrigals.

Up in the upper rooms, Denmark found the microphone and turned it on.

"Hey, Dan! Amy! Nellie!" he beamed at them without the knowledge that they were grimacing at him.

"Unbelievable," Amy said under her breath. "Truly...despicable." She said the last word with utter disgust.

"YOU JERKS!" Eisenhower screamed at the Germans at another of the room. "I _knew_ we couldn't trust you!"

Ian and Natalie were throwing every single British swear word in the book at the Asians. And it is best for you to not even know of them...

Poland was blowing kisses at the Starlings and Wizards, and the latter was fearful to speak back for Belarus was glaring at them as she held up her signature knife. Alistair simply shook his head in dismay.

"Ve~ L-Ludwig!" said a man with an Italian accent from one of the doors. He addressed the person at the door to his right, whose door was topped with the German flag. "I-I think we made them angry!"

The other man slapped his face with palm and sighed heavily. "Isn't it a little _too_ obvious, Feliciano?"

"WAIT A SECOND!"

Everyone turned to not the Madrigals, Alistair Oh, the Holts, the Kabra children, nor the Starling triplets, but Jonah Wizard's father, Broderick. His chest was heaving and the layer of sweat on his forehead shone against the light. The obvious signs of restlessness and aggression were surfacing.

With a heavy sigh, he slightly calmed down. Briefly collecting himself, he spoke. "If would anyone _please_ care to explain to us what in the world is going on here?"

"Pft! Just chill, dude," an American at one of the doors lazily told Broderick. "And by the way..."

The American spreads his arms wide in a welcoming way, and the lights around the room turned on, finally showing a clear scope of the people standing at the eight doors around the room.

"Welcome to the United Nations!" each of the eight men said in their own accent and language.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong>

*** **kill (Belorussian)

** "You witch!" (Polish)

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH *repeatedly bangs head onto desk* Why — can't — I — post — sooner — ? Darn school! *madly shakes fist in the air*

...is it just me or am I being too dependent on Google Translate these days? *can't even completely write a chapter without consulting it* ( ^ ^ ;)

And yeah...so now, I'm in school. In my third year of high school, to be exact. Research and life-changing decisions begin!


	9. Sorting

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ Ido not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>The eight smirking men and fifty or so people in the upper rooms proved a great threat to the people in the center of the room, Cahill and non-Cahill. And to prove this, Eisenhower Holt suddenly charged at one the men who responded by flailing his arms and screaming like a little girl.<p>

"DAD, NO!" the Holt children shouted the instance he dashed at the unsuspecting man.

Three meters before the Eisenhower could land a punch on the screaming man, two other men had stood between them. A tall, blond man with a great build had grabbed Eisenhower's beefy fist with one hand and was applying great pressure to the Holt's shoulder with the other. Another man, black-haired and somewhat short, stood behind Eisenhower and held a ancient-looking katana to his neck.

"If you dare endanger our trusted ally," the black-haired man said darkly.

The blond man holding Eisenhower's shoulder added plenty more pressure to his shoulder, causing him to wince.

"We will not hesitate to wipe away your very existence from the face of the Earth,", the blond continued the black-haired man's statement in a stern and intimidating German accent.

The Holt gulped as his pulse raced. He eyed the shiny metal of the sword positioned at a alarming distance from his neck, then to dewy-eyed man whom he was supposed to attack tearing up with relief.

"Ludwig, K-Kiku...!" the man said frantically. "Please let the m-man go!"

Ludwig and Kiku stared at their ally, then exchanged blank expressions. And without further ado, Ludwig released Eisenhower's hand and shoulder and Kiku withdrew his katana. Yet the Holt was not spared from Ludwig's merciless, last-minute push, which sent him flying into his family, all grouped together. With the Holt family knocked down, most of the people watching had smiles appearing on their faces and laughs bursting out of their mouths.

"You are lucky that Feliciano-san is very forgiving," Kiku told the Holts as he returned his sword into its sheath.

"This is barbaric..." Amy said in a soft and shaky voice.

Dan, having heard her claim, could only shudder in agreement.

"What do you want from us anyway?" Natalie screamed at a very tall, silvery blond-haired man who wore a gentle smile that seemed to hide the history of a man of sin behind it.

The man replied by cocking his head to the side and sweetly saying, "It's simple really. Just revenge."

Those words sent chills down everyone's spines.

"Ivan, stop scaring them — " a squint-eyed man told him off, finishing his sentence with an unusual interjection, " — _aru_!"

A man with a deep French accent cut in and said, "But alas, our recruits themselves may have already scared them out of their pants." He paused, and a malicious smile spread across his face. "Hm~ I would like to see that. _Honhonhonhon_~"

"Merlin's beard, _you_ yourself are making them tense, you frog!" the Englishman scolded him. "And let _me _do the talking from now on, you got that?"

He turned from his squabbling allies to the Cahills. The man's expression changed to a calmer one as he smiled and bowed in a gentlemanly way to them.

"Please do mind my manners, for we have yet to introduce ourselves," he said. By now, all the other seven men at the doors had silenced themselves.

The Englishman spoke. "My name is Arthur Kirkland, the representative from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

"Yo, dudes!" an American voice happily yelled and everyone immediately turned towards it. "The name's Alfred Foster-Jones, from the land of the free...THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!" He said the last few words with pride as he pumped his fists into the air. "Iggy over there" — Alfred addressed Arthur, who immediately replied with a "You bloody wanker!" — "calls me 'pig' and 'wanker', but you can call me 'Al' for short!"

As Arthur marched up to Alfred to bicker with him, the rest of the men stepped up and introduced themselves.

"I am Francis Bonnefoy, from nowhere else but the country of love..." — he flipped his golden, shoulder-length hair with much flair that he practically sparkled like Edward Cullen — "_France_~"

Irked, everyone backed away.

And the Russian man's greeting didn't seem any more welcoming than the Frenchman's.

"Eh, I am Ivan Braginsky of Russia. Become with me, _da_?" he said while smiling innocently and giving off an evil aura.

"My name is Wang Yao — " the Chinese man began, but was rudely interrupted by an obnoxiously loud laugh.

"AHAHAHA! _WANG_! His last name is 'Wang'!" Alfred jeered before getting wrung by the neck by Arthur.

Yao sighed heavily, then continued. "Wang Yao of China, _aru_!"

"Ve~! Ve~! _Ciaoooo_~! I'm Feliciano Vargas from _Italia_~!" the Italian gleefully introduced himself.

The German man, Ludwig, was quite hesitant. "Hm, My name Ludwig. Just Ludwig. My surname is not that significant, really..."

Feliciano interlocked Ludwig's arm with his own and said, "Yeah, he is my best friend from Germany!"

With this, Nellie and the other nations started to giggle at the cutesy Italian trying to hug his German more-than-an-ally-but-less-than-a-lover.

Lastly, it was just the Japanese guy. "Hello," he greeted them with a low bow. "I am Honda Kiku, hailing from _Nippon_. It is very nice to meet you."

Right about then, Francis and Ivan had managed to separate Arthur and Alfred. Living up to his pride of being a gentleman, Arthur dusted himself off and addressed the Cahills in what you could accept as a very mature tone.

"Now that everyone has properly introduced themselves to you, I shall now state your purpose of being in our presence."

He clapped his hands twice and the floor beneath the Cahills began to glow; a gigantic glowing symbol of the G8. Then above them, the dark ceiling lit itself, forming the symbol of the United Nations.

"The seven of us," Arthur told them. "are members of the Group of Eight, otherwise known as the G8. Wang Yao today is standing in place of Matthew Williams, our representative from Canada.

"The people you see here and up there" — Arthur motioned to the seven other men at the doors and all the nations in the upper rooms — "are part of the United Nations. You only see half a hundred of us because certain executives could not make it due to confidential circumstances.

"Us, the United Nations and Group of Eight, had been monitoring your family, the Cahill family, for more than five hundred years. We have seen what you have done, experienced what you had dealt with, and felt all the pain you had inflicted upon the beings of our world. In short, you have quite a history just within yourselves."

Finishing his speech with a contented smirk, Arthur held his hands behind his back and watched as the chaos unfolded.

"WHAT?" "I don't quite understand you...!" "This is crazy!" "I may even think that you're much weirded than us!"

"Dare call me a sadist, because I am gladly watching you lapse into panic and dysfunction," Arthur said, smiling and closing his eyes. "As I merely wished to see a soul other than myself suffer."

Eisenhower, shaken yet determined, stepped up and said, "Now what?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm?"

"What are you gonna do now? Now that you have us in your clutches with nowhere and no way to escape?"

"Oh, is that what you think, Mr. Holt?"

"...Huh?"

_**[ Arthur used Smart Talk! ]**_

_**[ Eisenhower is now confused! ]**_

_**[And the crowd goes wild! !]**_

"You mean, we have a choice?" Alistair asked the Brit.

"Yes, actually there is," Arthur replied coolly. "You may choose to step out of this room right now. But then, where will you go? Do you even know the way out of this room, this academy, or this island? And even if you do, will you be able to survive the trials of the sea and sky ahead of you? And even then...!"

A maniacal laugh slowly began to come from Arthur as he witnessed the horrified faces of the Cahills. The other seven men, his allies, were staring at him with much worry.

Suddenly stopping at mid-laugh, he spoke in a grim tone. Arthur looked at them menacingly with a partnering smile of wickedness.

"Even if you manage to escape from us now, we shall continue to hunt you down. "

* * *

><p>"Each and everyone of you will be coming with one of us," England had said. "Further details shall be explained later on."<p>

Mayhem broke out. Everyone was confused and furious; all were at unease and in worry.

"Are you effing kidding me?" Ian Kabra shouted together with his sister Natalie.

"I'm pretty sure that my insurance won't cover anything if they the company can't even find my body," Jonah said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh?" Arthur cocked his brow at the Wizard boy. He shook his head. "Oh no, no, no, my dear boy. We simply can't get rid of all of you. After all, you _are_ Cahills. If we attempted anything of the sort, I am very sure that it will not be sightly in any way at all."

England was smirking like the way sinister villains would when they're plotting something really evil. This sent chills down everybody's spine right then and there.

Arthur cleared his throat and spoke again: "Well, if there are no more violent reactions...may I suggest that I tell you whom you're assigned to?"

_Animals_, Amy thought. _We're like animals held up for sale, then slaughter._

"Now I know how the papers in a businessman's filing cabinet feel like," Dan tried to crack up his sister, but her empty response told him that a joke was the least thing they needed right now.

* * *

><p>"The Holts — you will be with Ivan over there," Arthur told the Tomas family as he pointed to the tall, blond man eerily smiling and waving at their direction. And for some reason, they could also feel that a certain someone in the upper rooms was secretly plotting his immediate demise.<p>

Despite the forbidding aura emitting from Mr. Braginsky, the five Holts still approached the tall man and stood beside him as the rest of the Cahills were paired off.

"Alistair Oh, go to that obese and _stupid_ American — "

"Hey! That's not nice, Iggy!"

"Kabras Ian and Natalie, Yao and Kiku will take you under their wings."

"Hmp," Natalie huffed out deviantly, her chin up high and all, as she and her brother walked up to the two Asian men. But deep inside, even Ian knew that she was just hiding how scared and terrified she was.

"Misters Broderick and Jonah Wizard — you head out with that..._frog,_" Arthur said, and with the last word in utter disgust.

"Why do you speak ill of my name, _Angleterre_?" Francis Bonnefoy asked him with a pseudo-whine.

"Sinead, Ned, and Ted Starling," England continued in a raised voice drowning that of France. "Ludwig will watch out for you."

The German at one door did not cease crossing his arms even as the Ekaterina triplets ran over to him.

_Three more children to take care of_, he thought and made a mental note to keep his brother at a distance from the Starlings when he comes back to Berlin.

"And finally..." England began to say, turning over to Amy, Dan, and Nellie. "Dear Madrigals, Feliciano shall — "

The Englishman didn't even get to finish speaking when the Italian man sprinted across the room, screaming like a giddy fangirl, and pulling the three Madrigals into a tight hug.

"Ve~! We're gonna have so much fun together~!"

Awkward faces were made, and an equally awkward aura was shared around the room.

Germany would have fully wished to storm at his frantic ally and tear him and the suffocating Cahills apart. Instead, he kept in mind of the strict instruction England gave the seven of them half a year of preparation ago: _Keep calm at all times, and don't give them _that_ idea._

* * *

><p>More than a dozen ports were located at separate docks around the island. At each of them were at least three submarines, ready to depart. The members of the UN were grouping together and — more or less — leaving the island in peace.<p>

It was just that _some_ people didn't share the same goal.

"This is such a pain," Broderick Wizard groaned, massaging his temple, as he and Jonah trailed behind the blond Frenchman.

At another dock, Alistair Oh was filled with regret while he walked with the loud Alfred F. Jones to their submarine.

"I am far too old for this," the Ekat said sadly, feeling every worn and tired part of his aged body.

"Well, at least we're still together...right?" Reagan tried to cheer up her glum family following Ivan Braginsky at Port F.

On the eastern side of _I__nsula __Academiae_, Ian Kabra was having trouble carrying his sleeping sister on his back.

"Please, Kabra-san," Kiku Honda pleaded to him, "let us help you..."

"I don't need your bloody help!" the Lucian boy spat back at him, proceeding to boarding the submarine further down the dock.

Along the way, he could Natalie's warm breath and — "Effing hell...", he swore under his breath — _drool_ on the nape of his neck.

With a heavy sigh, he let her be. _I just hope she won't get any nightmares...But who wouldn't — with all mayhem going on right now?_ Then he remembered the Clue Hunt, and concluded that there wasn't much of a difference. Except for the fact that they were penniless. And alone.

All the way back at the southwestern part of the island, Amy, Dan, and Nellie practically dragged their feet across the olden planks of the port and towards their submarine. Meanwhile, Feliciano Vargas was gleefully skipping, swinging his arms, and singing some random Italian song that would weird out any real human being.

"And I thought that the Clue Hunt was unbearable..." the three Madrigals said at the same time.

"Yah~! What a cute little kitty~!" Feliciano squealed as he huggled Saladin, who'd just emerged out of the sub.

"He escaped his pet carrier," Nellie said in a quite amused tone. "Genius. Pure win."

_I wish we could do the same thing right now_, Dan and Amy thought, wishing this will all their little hearts.

But of course, not all wishes come true. Not without a little hardwork, they don't.

* * *

><p>GAAAAAH, I'm so sorry everyone! Research 1, Chemistry 3, and Pre-calculus are really getting on my nerves these days, so I haven't been able to continue the story lately.<p>

But anyway, here it is: Part Nine! I am fully aware that it is very short and not that meaty, either, but we can at least get the story going, right? Right! Now, go on with your personal lives.

**[EDIT] **Typos. Typos _everywhere_.


	10. Milano, Karpussi, and Felicia

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>During the trip, they were silent.<p>

The whole effin' time.

They didn't even cater to Saladin's constant _Mrrp_-ing (with various meanings ranging from "Did you bring me by red snapper?" to "Hey, at least let me sleep on your lap!").

About an hour later, Nellie actually had the stomach to break the dead silence. "Are we there yet?" she whined as she carried on turning the pages of the magazine she snatched from the academy. She'd already read it for more than a dozen times, but it least it was better than to sit, wait, and hope for the best (which was not easy, mind you).

On the speakers rang Feliciano Vargas's childish musing. "Ve~ Not yet, _bella_, but we will be there soon enough!"

_Did he just call me _bella_? _Nellie thought, surprised as she is. If Feliciano wasn't part of the opposition, he would have turned the au pair on just now. He didn't even look that much older than her, too...

She shook her head.

_This isn't the time to hit on guys_, she thought critically. _Not now._

Feliciano may not been able to turn Nellie on, but his next few words did.

"After we arrive at _Catanzaro_, we'll hitch a plane to _Milano_~!"

* * *

><p>Catanzaro.<p>

Some random port.

Lots of fishermen.

The beating sun.

Unhappy Cahill children.

But Nellie was excited. She was getting all jumpy and stuff. Even Saladin was eager to travel to Milan, but only after Feliciano teased him with the fresh fish waiting for the hungry Egyptian Mau in a large cold storage room.

Neither of the Cahills were as giddy, though.

The Italian noticed this. He approached them.

"Ve~ Is something the matter, Dan?" Feliciano gently asked the boy, tilting his head to the side and making an innocent, confused face.

"I'm not on a first name basis with people who try to threaten me and my family," Dan spat at the Italian and walked around and past him.

Amy did not speak a single to word to Feliciano, and she avoided his gaze as she tailed her brother.

The Italian man's shoulders slumped as he watched them put a great measure of distance between each other.

Nellie walked over to him and, gingerly and hesitantly, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Mr. Vargas," she told him with empathy. "They'll warm up to you soon enough."

The man turned his head towards her. "R-really?" He sounded so desperate. So hopeful.

Nellie couldn't say any other word but 'yes'.

* * *

><p>"And this is where you'll be staying."<p>

While the Cahill children stood at the doorway, Nellie didn't waste a single second in rushing inside and collapsing into the bed. She kicked her sneakers off and plugged in her earbuds, soon mouthing lyrics and shifting her head to the rhythm of a rock-ish ballad. An ear-piercing, brain-busting tune was not fit for the time being, so she settled with the ballad.

Feliciano had taken them to a small, one-star hotel in the lesser part of town.

_Their 'lesser' seems like a three-star hotel_, Nellie had thought earlier.

It was on the fourth floor. The room was moderate in size, its walls were painted a pearly white with intricate designs carved into some parts of it, the carpet looked a tad bit expensive (if you ignore its dustiness), and there were three individual beds for each of them to rest in.

"Please do make yourselves comfortable," Feliciano told them with a smile as sweet as chocolate. "I'll come back for you tomorrow. So for now, you rest up, okay?"

With a final wave goodbye, he left the Madrigals to themselves.

"See, kiddos?" Nellie glanced back and forth between Dan lying in his bed and staring at the ceiling and Amy sitting quietly on her bed as she twisted a piece of her hair. "He really does care about our safety."

"Nellie, you only trust him because he took us to Milan."

Here he goes again. Being all cold and indecent. Dan's been utterly atrocious since they left the island.

"That is so not true!" their au pair said defensively. "It's not that at all."

"Then, what is it, Nellie?" Amy spoke to her for the first time in hours. Her voice was trembling, full of fear and hesitation. "Why do you trust him? That Mr. Vargas?"

"Geez, you guys," Nellie sighed heavily and rubbed her head, annoyed. She was sick and tired of their stubbornness and cold shoulders. "Can't you learn to trust someone?"

"Not after what he did to us," Dan replied, his tone dark and venomous. He turned on his side, his gaze away from Nellie. He seemed to given up on her.

Nellie could sense the mistrust for her Dan was building up deep inside him, so she turned to Amy. Her hopes were shattered just as easily, though, because Amy looked down at the floor and meekly said, "I'm sorry, Nellie, but I agree with Dan."

The au pair slapped her forehead and groaned.

* * *

><p>A loud yawn escaped Nellie's mouth as she stretched her arms out wide. Bright, warm sunlight was spilling into the pearl white room. Some birds were chirping outside, and the streets below had already begun to bustle.<p>

The gorgeous Egyptian Mau on the velvet pillow beside Nellie's bed copied her morning routine (Uh, a _copycat_?). The au pair smiled at it and allowed the cat to hop onto her bed, and she gave it a good scratch behind its ear.

"G'morning, little guy," she said quietly, careful not to wake Amy and Dan.

The problem was, neither of them were there.

The room was empty except for Nellie and Saladin.

A sudden, and greatly familiar feeling struck her.

She rushed out of bed, toppling Saladin off it (who gave her an angry _Mrrp!_ and a spiteful hiss), and searched the room for them.

"Amy? Dan? Kiddos? Where are you?"

Much to her relief, the door suddenly opened and there were the Cahill children held by their shoulders by a man's firm grip. Neither the children nor the man was in a good mood.

"_Signora_, I found them sneaking out of the hotel a few moments ago," the man droned in a deep Italian accent. He let go of Amy and Dan, and they rushed to Nellie's side. "_Il maestro_ instructed us not to allow you out of this establishment without his knowledge."

"Yeah, thanks," Nellie said with a sheepish smile and went for the door. "We'll keep that in mind." With that, she closed the door and locked it.

Turning on her heel, she shot an icy glare at the children. "Really, guys, really? And this early in the morning?"

Amy had her arms across her chest, and she was not in a sunny mood. "We're not comfortable with this, Nellie."

The au pair hung her head and sighed heavily. _Again with this 'trust no one' thing...Darn you, McIntyre!_

"Look kiddos, will you at least keep it together until Mr. Vargas comes back?"

"To kill us?" Dan chimed in, full of sarcasm. "Oh yeah, we'll definitely wait."

"And how are you so sure about that?" Nellie asked him, her hands now on her hips and her eyes watching Dan like a hawk.

"Trust me, Nellie, I should know."

The au pair was about to argue more when a sudden knock came to their door. Nellie opened it, and she hoped that it wouldn't be that creepy man from a couple of minutes ago.

Her prayers were answered.

It was Feliciano Vargas, prepped up in a chef's outfit and pushing a cart topped with a heavy-duty breakfast. With his usual, happy-go-lucky smile and equally easy-going mannerisms, he greeted the Madrigals and entered the room.

Nellie boggled at the food. She swore she could have felt her salivary glands overworking themselves at that moment. "Mr. Vargas, you got us some breakfast?"

"_Si,_" the Italian man complied, "and I made this all by myself, too~!"

"No. Friggin'. Way."

Right now, even Dan and Amy had their attention caught by Feliciano. They were staring at the food on the table, and you could probably tell that their eyes were dilating and their mouths were watering. And yes, their stomachs were rumbling. LIKE A SPANISH BULL CHARGING.

"So, shall we eat?" Mr. Vargas proposed.

The entire group, including Saladin, did no action of declining that wondrous offer.

Feliciano and Nellie arranged the food on the coffee table surrounded by a sofa and two armchairs.

Risotto, eggs, fresh vegetables, cheeses, morning tea, coffee, and milk, and bread. It looked like a breakfast fit for a king.

They settled down and began to eat.

And the whole cart was swept clean in minutes.

Dan let out a loud, hearty burp. His sister's face was full of disgust, Nellie was giggling, Saladin didn't mind it (the poor thing was too busy finishing his fatty tuna), and Feliciano looked a bit shocked.

"Ve~ Was it really that good?" the Italian asked Dan.

The boy replied by rubbing his satisfied belly and beaming at the man. "So...delicious..." He could barely get the words out of his mouth.

"I...I liked the risotto, Mr. Vargas." This was from Amy. Her face was flushed, and she was struggling to say the words. "A-and...I think your cooking is the best."

After seconds of silence, Feliciano grinned and breathlessly said, "_G__razie mille_."

_Finally_, Nellie's thoughts of relief rang in her head._ Some peace within the group._

* * *

><p>"Stop denying it, kiddos." Nellie was pestering Amy and Dan as they got dressed for the day ahead of them. "I know that you like him."<p>

Dan's head had just popped out of the shirt hole he'd been struggling through for the past ten minutes. He looked up at Nellie. "Who?"

"I think she's talking about Mr. Vargas, Dan," Amy told him as she slipped on her sneakers.

"Oh, well I think he's okay," Dan said nonchalantly.

Nonchalant as it was, that didn't stop Nellie from hugging him.

"N-Nellie! Hey! Take it easy!"

She pulled away, and still bothered to pat his shoulder like a proud parent (well, she _is_ one their legal guardians). "Sorry 'bout that. I'm just..."

"Ecstatic?" Dan answered for her. "Yeah, I know."

_'Happy' would have been enough_, Nellie pointed out in her mind. _And since when did the word 'ecstatic' enter my daily vocabulary?_

A rapping on the door.

"It's-a me~!" came Feliciano's voice.

"Ah, can you wait a sec, Mr. Vargas?" Nellie relayed. "We're still fixing up!"

"_Si_, _si_, I understand," the Italian replied. "Take your time, then!"

With a bit of a rush, the Madrigals were ready to go.

Then, Amy raised a question. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, Mr. Vargas but..." Her eyes rested on Saladin lazying around on his comfy velvet pillow by Nellie's bed.

"Oh, _si_! Your cat can come as well," the Italian told her, beaming. "I have something special waiting for him, as well."

With Saladin tailing behind them (because he deliberately refused to be carried around in that cramped pet carrier of his), Feliciano proceeded to walking them out of the hotel and onto the streets of Milan.

"Welcome to _Milano_!" the Italian man proclaimed, spreading his arms wide. "This is the fashion capital, and we have a lot of tourists and locals coming here from year-to-year. The shops around that district over there are especially popular."

Up ahead was a particular street filled with people who looked like they were dressed for the runway. They were very beautiful people. Stores with the likes of Gucci and Chanel lined the lovely street.

This street was practically screaming, "Victoria Beckham is a chump compared to the people who roam here."

Amy, Dan, and Nellie were just there, staring at the glamorous avenue with their mouths agape, among the dozens of equally fabulous individuals walking around the place.

Dan's expression quickly changed, though. "Please, tell me that we aren't here to shop!" he begged Mr. Vargas with desperate eyes. "I dread it!"

Amy stared at her brother in disbelief. "'_I dread it_'?"

"You heard me right, Amy," Dan told her. "I shall _dread_ the moment we step into a single shop because I absolutely _loathe_ shopping."

Now even Nellie was staring at him. "Freaky influx of vocabulary much?"

"_You're_ the one who's being freaky," Dan told their au pair. "Using the word 'influx' and all..."

And here comes Amy to the rescue.

She cut in between them and held them back from each other. "Look, will you two just lay off this whole vocabulary business? And I think we've lost Mr. Vargas!"

"Nope, he's right over there," Dan said, pointing at Feliciano over at a green-walled store. He was waving at them, gesturing their group to come after him, which they immediately obeyed.

It was a strange little shop. First of all, the sign outside was not in Italian, but in Greek (as suggested by Amy and Nellie, and who would argue?). Next, the whole place was empty except for the various olden artifacts and the cats loitering around the place. It stunk of digging site and cat lady. Lastly, it looked like no one was even watching the shop.

Feliciano approached the counter and rang the bell. There was no answer.

"Heracles?" he called out.

"_Heracles_?" Dan whispered in Amy's ear. "Isn't that — "

Without him even finishing his question, his sister nodded slowly.

It was already the third time Feliciano tried shouting the name.

"Mr. Vargas, are you even sure that there's someone here?" Nellie asked him.

"_Si_, _signora_," he told her. "Maybe he's just in a deep sleep again..."

He cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned over the counter. With a really loud voice, he yelled, "HERACLES! It'sa me, Ital — er, I mean, FELICIANO VARGAS! _PLEASE WAKE UP AND COME OUT!_"

The next minute, a brown-haired Mediterranean man emerged from behind the shop. He had tan skin, messy, curly hair and two strange curly pieces of it sticking out the top of his head. The man was slowly making his way towards them, and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, Feliciano_._" He looked slightly taken aback, but recovered quickly. His voice came out mostly as drone or just a yawn. "It's good to see you."

He managed to pull out a smile, warm and welcoming, behind all that drowsiness.

"So, what brings you here today?" he asked Feliciano. Just then, he spotted the three Madrigals and Saladin in Dan's arms. "Oh, you've brought others. They have a very cute kitty." A slight redness appeared on his cheeks.

"Heracles, would you mind taking care of Saladin?" the Italian man asked the other.

"Is that his name? _Saladin_?" Heracles was walking towards Dan and began inspecting Saladin. "His breed looks utterly familiar..." He was scratching his chin for a moment, and later came up with a conclusion. "An Egyptian Mau, perhaps?"

Dan answered with a nod. "Yes, sir."

A brief smirk appeared on Heracles' face. "I remember seeing so many of them during Gupta's mother's golden years, and how I would practically swim in half a Nile with just them in it."

"That's both awesome," Nellie spoke up, " and disturbing." She finished with a shrug.

Amy nudged her.

"So...you're gonna take him now?" Dan asked the man.

He slowly nodded in response and held his arms out.

But Dan recoiled. He held Saladin tight in his arms like a child not wanting to give up his favorite toy.

"It's alright, Dan," Feliciano tried to ease his tension. "It'll only be for a day."

Dan looked in the eyes of Heracles.

_They look like the eyes of someone I can trust...right?_

In the end, he reluctantly handed the Egyptian Mau over to the man.

They actually expected Saladin to thrash and resist.

But he didn't.

He was purring and _Mrrp_-ing in Heracles' loving arms.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Feliciano stood next to Heracles and introduced the man. "Amy, Dan, Nellie, this is my very good friend and neighbor, Heracles Karpussi~! He's a magician with cats and digging up old stuff from the past!"

At that moment, none of the three Madrigals could suppress their laughter.

"Pfffft — _Karpussi_?"

Heracles tilted his head slightly to the side and nonchalantly asked them, "Is there something wrong with my surname?"

"N-no!" Nellie shrieked while fighting back the giggles. "It's just t-that — oh, who am I kidding..._BWAHAHAHAHA_!"

"Dude," Dan laughed, "you're last name's _Karpussi_ and you're awesome with _cats_! How wicked is that?"

'Karpussi' was just about winning over 'Wang' in the Funniest Surname Category.

* * *

><p>The Madrigal trio and Feliciano Vargas sat at the back of a delivery truck painted in the colors in the Italian flag. Their next destination: Madrid. At least that's what Feliciano told them.<p>

Amy and Dan had protested as to why they couldn't just take a faster route by plane, or why they even had to go to a city right across two national borders. And besides, what was the point of leaving your stuff and pet at a hotel and store, respectively, where your actual destination is that far away?

But alas, Nellie was heavily persuasive. She pinned the children down onto a decision that was in her own favor.

"I still can't believe how it he took that all in without a single flinch." Nellie was marveling at Mr. Karpussi's indifference to their jeering. "I mean, the dude was all poker-face on us the whole time!"

Feliciano beamed at them. "You see? I love my friends~!"

As they talked, the truck would lurch backwards and forwards from time to time, jumping at every bump in the road encountered (whether a precautionary speed bump or otherwise), and honk at all unwanted vehicles and individuals in their path.

"Ve~ I am awfully sorry for this," the Italian man apologized to them. "Felicia isn't exactly the best driver in the world. But hey, you know us Italians."

He was suddenly interrupted by loud cursing in Italian coming the driver's seat. Then came a heavily accented female voice. "Speak for yourself, you big oaf! You're no better than me!"

"Hey, Nellie, it seems that your and Mr. Vargas' roots may not be that far from each other!" Dan mocked their au pair, who knocked him in the head in response.

In the meantime, Amy was at a corner, admiring the self-satisfying Italian countryside. She approximated the trip to be a bit over two days by truck (and that's only getting out of Italian territory) , but it definitely felt a lot faster than she expected. Maybe the scenery didn't whip past her, but the time sure did, because half an hour later they were at the border between France and Italy.

Beyond all this, Dan and Amy were highly suspicious.

They heard a car door slam up front. The truck driver, Felicia, looked very much Mr. Vargas. She had the same auburn hair and brown eyes as he did. Heck, she even had the same carefree expression as he did. Well, at least she did before the trip. Now, she wore a frown on her face and her hands were on her hips.

"Well, Feliciano, here we are." She was glaring at Mr. Vargas. If she just wasn't wearing that expression right now, the Madrigals would have been convinced that she and Feliciano were basically gender-bent versions of each other.

Everyone else jumped out of the truck and landed on the road below, kicking up some dust and dirt.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Felicia asked the other Italian.

Feliciano shook his head. "No, this will be all for now. _Grazie mille_ for your help, _bella_."

His gender-bent version, lightening up a bit, smirked. "Feh. Don't you sweet-talk you way out of this, Feliciano. We both know that you cost me my precious two hours!"

With that, she got back behind the wheel and drove off until their couldn't make up the truck beyond the horizon.

"Are we gonna cross the border or what?" Nellie asked Feliciano as she stared intently on the other side of the wooden fence. "I haven't exactly been to the French countryside before."

"Ah? Oh, no, no, no, _Signora_ Gomez." Feliciano disagreed with her, much to her dismay. "We are going to travel by air."

"By plane?" Amy asked.

"Again?" Dan groaned.

Just then, they were greeted by the rapid sounds and high winds created by the black helicopter hovering above them. From the copter hung a rope ladder with a woman waving down at them from a great height. And despite the thunderous noise produced by the spinning blades of the helicopter, the woman's voice came out loud and clear.

"Hey, Feli!" said the woman in an Italian accent. "Congratulate us! We managed to talk Sadiq into lending us his copter!"

The people on the ground were looking up at the copter and the woman on the rope ladder. Feliciano and the Madrigal trio were shielding their eyes from the bright sunlight and whipping winds.

"Who's she, Mr. Vargas?" Dan screamed above the noise.

"She is Lovina," explained Feliciano, "another _bella_."

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Notes]<strong>

Well, I really do hope everybody will be content with this chapter, because I won't be posting any more for the next few weeks.

Sorry to disappoint you but I'm really trying to keep my grades up (I'm actually failing at school) and I really don't have the time and patience to whip up the next chapter lickity-split.

Oh, hold your horses there. Just because I don't have much to write nor do I even have the sufficient Internet connection to post them doesn't mean I don't put enough effort into making these works. I really try my best to write up chapters that could satisfy the reader and myself. If it doesn't comply with either of the two conditions, why do you think I would even dare show it to you guys?


	11. Rocher Torte!

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues _belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>"Ned!"<p>

"Ted!"

"Sinead!"

"_STARLINGS!_"

Elizabeta, Gilbert, and Ludwig were using raised voices in beckoning the triplets out of their hiding places. It was only their first day and they were already causing mayhem in Roderich's manor.

"Geez, where could those three be?" Hungary mused, tired and irritated. "We've been searching for them since nine in the morning!"

"Perhaps we are just looking in the wrong places," Germany said and suggested that they search in the gardens and grounds.

"And risk getting lost in prissy boy's frukin' maze?" Prussia exclaimed. "NEVER!"

Just then, Ludwig saw something by the corner of his eye: an auburn ponytail rushing past and into the next hallway. Elizabeta also claimed that she heard childish laughter.

"Maybe you're just hearing things again, Lizzie," Gilbert mocked her.

"Or maybe you're just _so_ deaf these days, Gilbert," Elizabeta shot back at him.

Ludwig butted in as the two prepared to pit against each other. _"__Damit aufhören_! Stop it, you two! Let's concentrate on the Starling triplets for now, okay?"

* * *

><p>Sinead silently watched as the two Germans and the Hungarian woman ran down the opposite hallway. After checking to see if the coast was clear, she signaled her brothers to push her up and out of the gigantic marble vase they were hiding in.<p>

"Gah, Sinead...what have you been eating these days?" Ned groaned as he massaged his pained shoulder. "You're pretty heavy."

The sister's ears went pink and she pursed her lips. She was in not the best shape, but Sinead Starling was no pig of a girl. Ekats are reasonable, from their speculations of the universe down to their personal dietary practices.

"Never mind that now," she said as she took them by their wrists and began to drag them down the hallway. "We have to find a way to get out of here before anything horrible happens to us."

They hadn't even gone a good two meters when a chambermaid spotted them, and as soon she started screaming the three siblings sprinted away.

Soon the whole house was hunting them down. Housemaids and butlers, guards with their bloodhounds, and even the groundskeepers were sniffing them out even though it was just in the house. But these people seemed to not know of their lineage as skilled Cahills and brilliant members of the Ekaterina branch.

Thanks to Ted's splendid sense of hearing, alerting them of a nearby enemy at every step and turn, Ned's sharp memory of the manor's hallways and staircases, and Sinead leading the way, the three were able to make it the front doors.

The heavily guarded front doors.

They skidded to a halt and planned to turn back and locate another exit. But as soon as they did, they found themselves surrounded by the house help and servants.

Sinead cursed under her breath and held on tight to her brothers' hands. She shut her eyes tight and began to chant out a silent prayer that a miracle would happen.

_No_, she said to herself. _Ekats are rational. Doing such a thing is completely against our nature..._

"What is going on here?"

Heads turned to the blue-clad aristocrat standing tall at the top of the grand staircase overlooking the mob and the Starlings.

"_Herr_ Edelstein!" screamed a butler to Roderich. "These three tried to escape!"

"They did, now did they?" He appeared neither mad nor shocked. He simply cocked his head to the side and raised a brow at the crowd below.

"Roderich!"

"Specs, hey!"

Elizabeta, Gilbert, and Ludwig had just burst into the scene. They turned from the mob and the Starling triplets to Roderich atop the stairs.

Hungary was the first to speak. "We'd been searching high and low for those three!" She pointed an accused finger at the Cahills amongst the house help and personnel.

"Roderich, I speak for everybody here that they're a lot to handle!" Germany hollered and gained the support of most of the mob.

Austria said nothing for a while. He scrunched up his face in deep thought, and then he found Sinead in the sea of faces crowding near the front door. An expression of the greatest desperation and a plea for help was etched all over her face. It wasn't typical for him to pity another and actually do anything about it, but perhaps this would be a great exception.

He addressed everyone present in the vicinity, speaking loud and clear. "Is this how we treat our guests?"

No one answered. A bit of stirring in the crowd, but not an utter.

Austria spoke once more. This time it was louder and stronger.

"I said_, Is this how the Austrian Royal Manor treats their esteemed guests?_"

"N-no, _Herr_!" some sputtered out of their meekness.

"Absolutely not, _Herr_ Edelstein!" others replied in stern voices.

The three nations at the side were staring in awe as Roderich commandeered his household.

A slight smirk of contentment surfaced on Austria's face, then it merged back into a straight stare.

"I will need coffee _und _Rocher torte in my office immediately," he order the maids, who hastily detached themselves from the crowd and ran off to the kitchens. Roderich then addressed the German brothers and his ex-wife. "And please, if you must, bring the Starling triplets with you as you follow me later on.

"Well then..." Austria lifted his hand into the air and waved away his servants. "You may all return to your stations."

The mob dispersed in such quick motion as if Roderich had sprayed them like ants with water. Second by second, the crowd thinned and the room emptied until it was only the four nations and the three Cahills inside the main lobby.

"_Folgen Sie mir bitte_," Roderich said curtly, turning on his heel and marching up the stairs. "Follow me, please."

Ludwig, Elizabeta, and Gilbert collected the Starlings and trailed behind Roderich. Down hallways and up stairs they went until they came upon a room sealed with two large and grand oak doors and guarded by some guardsmen. They opened the door for their master and the rest, and they all entered Austria's office.

An aristocrat just being who he is, Roderich's office shone with great grandeur and dauntlessness: finely-woven carpets from the best in the East, strong and sturdy furniture that also gave off a regal radiance, suits of armor dangerously staring at the room's occupants with nonexistent eyes, and a large portrait of Roderich during the Seven-Year War mounted on the wall behind his desk.

As the triplets were made to sit, Prussia snickered.

"I feel sorry for the poor sap who was forced to paint you, Roddy," he jeered.

And I think you would know what happens next.

So there, Gilbert slumped on the couch as he massaged his bruised head. When she knew that they had to sit on the same couch, Elizabeta tried to keep as much distance between her and the albino as possible. And Ludwig was in the middle, creating a safe barrier between two powerful forces that could destroy the universe when they were given even the slightest chance to interact.

A knock came to the door and so did a servant boy's voice. "_Herr_ Edelstein, I have brought you your tea and cake."

"Ah, come in then," Roderich said, and the doors were opened for the servant to come pushing in a cart filled with a high-class snack served on an expensive set of china. The servant placed the food and drink on the coffee table surrounded by the couches everyone sat on, and he pushed the cart back out and into the hallway.

Roderich saw through the hesitance in the eyes of the triplets and told them to help themselves for they were his esteemed guests of his and that he must treat them like so.

Sinead glanced at the cake, and a bulb lit in her mind. "Rocher torte? Specially-made by the Rocher Hotel? That's very pricey..."

The Austrian huffed out defiantly. "I have absolutely no problem with that. I practically own the hotel," he gloated as he cut a piece of the cake for himself. "And haven't you tasted this kind of torte already?"

All three Starlings shook their heads in dismay.

Roderich gave them a slight frown, but quickly dismissed it. "Well, I insist that you do it now. You are missing a lot, I say."

* * *

><p>"I tell you, West, he's going to get a heart attack someday," Prussia told Germany when they were outside Austria's office. "Stuffing himself with all those sweets and other stuff diabetic people shouldn't take in." He snickered, laughing at his own joke, while his brother simply shrugged his shoulders and sighed.<p>

"He's got some nerve, telling us to get out while he talks to them alone," Ludwig said is a baritone. "And only because we're using his house..." He gave Gilbert a sudden death glare as well as to a certain Italian taking care of the two Madrigal children and their _au pair_ and Egyptian Mau somewhere beyond the Alps. "If our own house wasn't so chaotic and like that, I could have easily taken the Starlings there instead."

"Well, it's good that you didn't," Prussia remarked with a voice full of spite, greatly contradicting his cheery mood just a few moments ago. "I don't like those three at all, and the only reason why Specs likes them is because they didn't trash his place during their petty Clue hunt like all the other saps in their stupid family did."

Just then, one of the oak doors of the office opened and Sinead rushed out and went running down the opposite end of the hall. Shortly after, her brothers came out as well and chased her until their calls for her faded along with their thumping footsteps on the floors. Gilbert and Ludwig suspected them of running away again, and were just about as ready to hurl themselves into another hunt for the triplets when Roderich and Elizabeta stepped into the hall and halted them.

"Where are they going?" Prussia asked them, a bit angered and confused. "Are they planning to escape again?"

"_I_ sure would," Hungary told him off, "after hearing a complete idiot and stranger bash my family like that."

Gilbert retreated two steps from her. "They...they heard us...?"

Elizabeta placed her hands and her hips and stared him down. "Who wouldn't? Your voice is just about as loud as the alarms during the bomb raids of '44!"

Then, Roderich decided to cut in. He placed a hand on Hungary's shoulder and told her: "That should be enough, Elizabeta. I'll handle it from here."

She gave a worried look, but he gave her a reassuring nod. Hungary took it well, but kept glaring at Prussia the entire time Austria talked.

"I've already planned four days' worth of work for the Starlings," Roderich told Ludwig and Gilbert, "and we have them fully-informed of it. The load will cover Central Europe (if Vash has no violent reactions), Hungary, and the Netherlands and Belgium. But of course, whatever happens after that is all up to you, Ludwig."

"That will be a lot of work for them, then," said Elizabeta, ignoring the great urge the smack Gilbert for telling her off, pointing out that it was obvious without her saying so. "Don't you think we're going a little bit too rough on those three?"

"I believe that they did not consider that when their kind wrecked havoc in our lands," Ludwig told the group as he tried his best not to let old and painful memories get the better of him now.

"But that was their _family_, Ludwig, not them," Hungary insisted. "They had nothing to do with most of it."

"Yeah, but you can't deny that made a little trouble of their own, Lizzie," Prussia told her, sneering. He held up his pointing finger and waggled it playfully while saying in sing-song: "_Don't forget the 39 Clues~!_"

* * *

><p>It was a lovely day, definitely not the best time to sit under the blue skies and sun in remorse and fear.<p>

"_I hate them._"

The triplets were somewhere in the tall hedges, brilliantly clipped and cut into a complicated maze. The Starlings boy chased their sister all the way from the office to where they think was the center of the maze.

"_I hate them all!_"

Sinead sat on the ground, pulling her legs close to her and burying her head in her knees. She would swear out loud in between her spiteful screams.

Ned and Ted sat on each side of her, patting her back and rubbing her head, respectively, in sympathy. This was all awkward for them, considering that Sinead is usually the tough one, the triplet that would be the one to assist and comfort her handicapped brothers (who are more handicapped than her).

When she finally lifted her head, they both saw that their sister had puffy eyes and a wet and red face. Her lip was trembling, and they think that if she wanted to tell them something she wouldn't be able to do it properly.

Ted took Sinead's head and placed it on his shoulder, then settling his own head on hers. Meanwhile, Ned scooched a closer to them and laid his head on his sister's shoulder. The moment felt warm and reassuring that they wanted it last even a bit longer.

Later, they broke the silence (Sinead's sniffling, the cries of birds flying about their heads, and the faint voices of people from afar being the only noise around).

"I want to go home," all three of them said simultaneously.

They rose their heads, exchanged looks, and laughed steadily until their were howling like hyenas. As their laughter died out, Sinead spoke up.

"We know getting away from these people isn't going to be easy, even for three Ekaterina Starlings," she said, abandoning her sense of pride for once. "We might as well play along."

She wiped her face with her sleeve, sniffled, and huffed out defiantly, her body inflating with sudden courage. Ned and Ted notice this, and they agreed to her idea of obeyed their hosts' orders. They will have to play it safe for now, and blowing up the house with Ned's genius remedy can wait for another day.

Then, beyond their proper hearing distance up to a certain radius they could their names being called out.

"It's those guys again," Ned said as he stood up. He was referring to Ludwig, Gilbert, and Elizabeta. He turned to his siblings. "Should we reveal our current whereabouts?"

"I guess so," Ted replied. "We may get another scolding from the wrong people if we do otherwise."

.o.o.o.o.o.

The maze was easy. They were Ekats, after all. There really was no need for three dogs to go on a search for them.

A large Doberman ran up to the two Starling boys and nearly scared the daylights out of them when it knocked them both down to the ground and started licking their faces.

"There they are!" came Gilbert's voice.

Elizabeta ran ahead of the German brothers and pulled Sinead into a tight embrace.

"I was so, so, so _worried_!" she wailed.

And Sinead was too much under a state of shock to react. When Hungary pulled away, she saw on the woman's face what was hers not an hour long ago: puffy, red eyes, a trembling lip, and a tear-streaked and totally flushed face.

Elizabeta held the Starling girl's face and told her in a shaky voice: "Please...don't even make us worry like that again okay?"

"Us?" Gilbert asked, raising a brow at the two. "Since when did I give a damn?"

But nobody was paying enough attention to him to care: Ludwig was too busy trying to get his dogs off Ned and Ted (who weren't complaining about the sudden affection they were receiving from animals they'd just encountered), and Elizabeta was hugging Sinead (maybe tight enough to brink of suffocating the girl).

Now, from one of the windows of the manor, Roderich looked upon with scene with a hefty smile. He had too many things on his mind: how impressed he was at the Starlings' speed and strategy in getting out of his maze (where he would normally throw a servant in as punishment and watch them wander around the hedge until starvation and other factors got the better of them), their bonds as siblings, and Sinead's crying from the earlier minutes.

Even though he may never be able to tell it to his face, but he thanked Ludwig for bringing him into this mission.

He would rather call it a game, though.

* * *

><p><strong>[Author's Note]<strong>

When was the last time I updated this story...? Oh, nevermind that. What matters is that it's updated now, right? Right?

...Right, guys?

...

Oh, please just don't start throwing bricks at me.

Anyway, I have _finally_ been able to get some Hetalia episodes into my laptop. Episodes 1-52, to be specific. Thanks to a senior of mine. Bless his soul. Oh, and VLC Media Player. *starts singing like a lunatic*

Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to write the next chapter..._after_ I watch some more Hetalia.

P.S. I will have to slap myself for writing Hungary and the Starlings in such a sappy scene...DARN HAPPY HOUR ON HBO.


	12. Mind, Heart, and Seoul

**| IMPORTANT NOTES |**

○ This is set between the tenth and eleventh books (_Into the Gauntlet _and _Vespers Rising_, respectively_)_ of the 39 Clues, not including the certain flashbacks○

○ I do not own either of the series. _The 39 Clues_ belongs to Rick Riordan and _Axis Powers Hetalia_ belongs to Himaruya Hidekazu ○

* * *

><p>The Kabra children used to be as spoiled as rotten milk. They still are, in actuality, but at least they now know how to deal with things without the help of nannies, butlers, or their parents.<p>

"Give it back, Natalie!" Ian screamed at sister as he reached for the article of clothing she held away from him.

Natalie stuck her tongue out at him. "Make me!"

**Both of them knew how to settle things like civilized adults.**

"Natalie, give me back my jacket right this instant" — Ian raised his voice and put all the more spite into his threat — "or I _swear_ that I'll kill you!"

With this, Natalie made a run for it. But she wasn't afraid. Not of Ian, known to her as her prissy, highly-sophisticated (read: still-thinks-he-lives-in-the-high-class) brother.

Her laughter bounced off the wooden walls of the house and echoed back to her, feeding her laughter even more. It was exhilarating, that moment. She had never felt so alive.

Meanwhile, Ian gave chase and kept on throwing threats and insults at her.

"Natalie Isabel Kabra," her brother called her by her full name, "you come back here!"

**Yes. Like civilized adults.**

Ian was getting tired. His legs, his lungs, his mind. Yes, he may have exercised his stamina and speed during the Clue Hunt, but he's no Tomas.

And thus he decided: if he wasn't going to beat his sister with fast and powerful legs, he will have to do it with strategy.

As a last resort, he settled on a painful solution to his problem. When he got close enough to Natalie, he timed his jump right and tackled her down to the ground.

**Hm.**

At first, they were fighting with words. Now came in the fists and nails.

"Gah! Get off me, Ian!" Natalie shrieked, wriggling herself out of her brother's arms.

"Not until you give me back my jacket!" Ian replied. He made sure that his body was securely pinning his sister down beneath him while he grabbed for his jacket.

**Oh dear.**

"AIYAH! What is going on here?"

The two Kabras still continued to fight even after Yao's high-pitched exclamation. They were on the floor, carefully entwined with each other, biting and punching and scratching and grabbing. Oh, and screaming.

Kiku walked into the scene with a scrunched-up face and massaging both sides of his head. "Is this were all the noise has been coming from?"

At the same time, Lee and Mei arrived.

"What's going on here?" they chorused.

"That's what I said!" China whinnied and threw his floppy, over-sized sleeves into the air in submission.

"Can anyone just please get them to stop fighting?" Kiku complained, his hands now cupping his ears.

Lee raised his hand and said, "I volunteer." He then pulled a red, shiny blow horn out of his sleeve and aimed it like a gun at Ian and Natalie. "Brace yourselves."

Alarmed, Yao and Mei joined Kiku in the act of covering their ears. Lee conjured a pair of earmuffs from his sleeve and placed it on his head.

He asked his siblings if they were ready, and they nodded.

Lee nodded back.

He stepped back a bit and screamed, "FIRE IN THE WHOLE!"

The horn blared. Unprotected eardrums would be left ringing for hours, if not ruptured on the first try.

The rowdy Kabra children were lucky enough to keep their ears intact. They were forced to push themselves away from the other and shield their ears.

Lee's finger was still on the button.

"STOP!" Natalie screamed, trying her best to get herself heard above the loud horn. "PLEASE!"

"ENOUGH!" Ian yelled. "HAVE MERCY!"

It seemed that Lee must have heard them because he immediately stopped. His hand dropped to his side as he wore a small triumphant smile at the edge of his lips.

"Well, that was easy," he claimed and left the scene without another word.

* * *

><p>The two Kabras were on their knees, getting a long and agonizing lecture from Yao. Their heads were facing down, unable to look at the enraged country straight in the eye.<p>

"Really, you two!" Yao scolded them. "It's only be two days since you got here and now you cause a huge ruckus like that? I'm very disappointed in you!"

"Please," Ian said in a sour tone and his eye twitching at the ground, "stop using that tone of us as if you're our mother."

_Our mother._

The words echoed in his mind. So did her face. Then he thought that his sister might be feeling the same way, too.

But before he could turned to see Natalie's face, he was smacked on the head. With words.

"You disrespectful child!" Yao spat at Ian. "Well, I expect nothing less from Arthur, that filthy Brit!"

Ian's hands were placed on his legs as he was kneeling down. Now they're being bruised from his fingers gripping them tightly in silent anger.

"All you pompous, tea-drinking, scone-scoffing, first-world Englishmen think you can do whatever you want!" Yao carried on.

_Shut up!_ Ian was screaming in his mind. Probably inside his pants, his legs must be bleeding from the deep excavation his fingers are making. _Just SHUT UP!_

Right next to him, Natalie could tell that he's holding the urge to lunge out and wring out the long lectures from the Chinese man.

"And now," Yao continued, "when I'm giving you a proper scolding, you complain and tell me that I sound like your mother. How rude! Well, it's a good thing your _real_ mother disowned you, because if I were her, _I'd do the same!_"

It was quick.

Ian bolted up and out of his sitting position and threw a punch at Yao. But the Chinese man evaded the attack and skillfully countered it. Natalie was too busy processing what had happened and was only able to react when Ian was already tumbling across the corridor and had crashed into the opposite wall.

Natalie scrambled to her feet and ran to her brother. "IAN!" she screamed.

"Hmp." While leaving the Kabras to attend to themselves, Yao brushed himself off and began to walk away. "Pathetic Brits."

* * *

><p>"A-ah...ow...OUCH!"<p>

"Stop fidgeting!" Mei told Ian off as she pressed the cotton all the more down on the cut on his head. "Be a man, will you?"

Natalie couldn't help but snicker. Ian whipped his head at her and glared her down, silencing her, but Mei immediately turned his head back at her and continued to treat him.

"Meimei." Lee appeared at the open doorway, calling out Taiwan's nickname. "How is he?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Mei told him coolly and pointed her thumb at a flabbergasted Ian.

Lee stared and raised a brow at him. "Well, are you?"

"Huh?" Ian blurted out, causing his sister to giggle. This time when he glared her down she only kept on laughing at him. He ignored her and properly answered the question given to him. "Ah, yes. I'm fine now. Thank you for asking."

Lee's face was nonchalant, as usual, and he tilted his head as he looked at Ian. "Hm, okay," he mumbled before turning on his heel and leaving the room. "Just checking."

As soon as she was sure that Lee was gone, Natalie perked up and started bombing Mei with questions.

"Ms. Wang — "

"Oh, please Natalie. Don't." Mei gave her a wide smile. "You can call me _jiejie_."

Natalie wore a confused face. "_'Jiejie'?_"

"It's simple Chinese for 'older sister'," Ian to pointed out to his sister.

Mei nodded. "Yes. If you're going to stay with us for a longer while, you might as well refer to everyone in this house the proper way."

"Yeah," Ian sighed and rolled his eyes. "We wouldn't want to get another lecture from that old man again."

At that moment, Ian and Natalie froze in place. They expected Mei to scold them for referring to their host like that, but she just giggled then burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Natalie squeaked.

"You're not mad?" Ian asked Mei.

"Why would I be mad?" the Taiwanese girl said as her laughter died down and she wiped a tear from her eye. "We always call him that! It's perfectly normal. Plus, it's true."

Her confession put identical smiles on the Kabra children's faces.

"Oh, but just to be on the safe side..." She leaned in a bit closer and lowered her voice as if she were about to tell them the most vital secret in the world. "Don't tell that to his face." Now, her voice turned back into its normal volume. "He goes all _f__ākuáng_ with his wok! Completely berserk! Swinging the thing here and there!" She held her arms up in the air and whipped the pink, floppy sleeves of her dress back and forth to imitate Yao's mad actions. She even made funny faces and sounds to accompany them.

Ian and Natalie laughed at her the whole while. It was pure and hearty, probably the most real kind of laughing they did in their entire lives.

Just then, Mei's phone started ringing. She read the message sent to her and stood up.

"Is something wrong...um..._jiejie_?" Natalie asked her, blushing at her use of the new word.

"You two should get dressed; your outfits to be changed into and your trolleys filed with all your necessities are in the sitting room." She made her way to the door. "I'll go get them for you. Just stay here, okay?"

Both children nodded.

"Wait!" Natalie cried out just as Mei was about to leave.

The Taiwanese girl turned her head and asked, "What is it, Natalie?"

"If you don't mind me asking..." Natalie trailed off, and was supplemented by her brother.

"Where are going?" Ian asked.

Mei just shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know. Kiku just texted me that order and said that he'll be waiting for us outside in the car."

* * *

><p>"We're going back," Natalie said softly. She felt like fainting.<p>

"I can't believe it," Ian spoke hoarsely. He felt like an old man.

The both of them sat in next to each other in the silver Honda CR-V 2011 as Kiku handled the wheel, Mei sitting shotgun, and Lee all stoic in the back cramped amongst all their luggage. His siblings tried to tell him to just sit with the Kabras, but Natalie kept on easing away from him and Ian never stopped giving him strange looks. He simply thought that he was burdening them.

Seoul, South Korea.

The words came out so easily out of Mei's mouth when she told them where their flight from Beijing was going, but it was oh-so-difficult for Ian and Natalie to swallow them. They were shoved down their dry throats and forced to digest the feeling of guilt and nostalgia. The different tastes of the past.

"Why? Why, why..." Ian and Natalie kept muttering throughout the whole trip to the airport.

Mei really felt for them.

"Hey, you two," she told them somewhere about ten minutes into the trip, "there's no need to get all flustered about this. It'll be fine."

_Fine? You're not the one to go back to the place where you almost killed two of your cousins and your uncle!_ Ian wanted to scream in her pretty face, but he couldn't. There was a lot of concern in her voice, and a lot more of it on her face.

It was unexpected, but Mei was starting to become a good friend and ally to Ian and Natalie. They didn't want to let her down after how she could make them happy, so they stopped muttering and were silent until they got to Korea.

* * *

><p>In a certain high-standard music company in Seoul, Im Yong Soo was pacing back and forth as he kept receiving an hanging up on his phone.<p>

"If she won't put in on herself, then force it on her!" Another call. "No, pink wouldn't suit him. The only man I know who can pull off a black shirt under a pink cardigan is Cho Kyuhyun, and don't even argue with me!" And another. "Just give him his banana milk. That'll calm him down."

Suddenly, Yong Soo felt someone tapping him on the shoulder and he turned to find out it was his brother Lee, stoic and prudent.

"_Ni hao_, Yong Soo," Lee greeted him nonchalantly, holding up a hand with horns (as if the boy was rocking out at a concert).

"_LEE~!_" Yong Soo quickly forgot about the people he was talking to (or should I say _yelling at_) on the other line, and threw his arms around his sibling. He pulled Lee into a bone-crushing hug and was cuddling him like a big stuffed animal. "Thank God, you're here! My employees are giving me a serious headache again!"

"Tch, he didn't even bother to look at us," Mei said bitterly as she walked the Kabra children over to her brothers.

Kiku trailed behind, a satchel bouncing off his back as he ran after Mei. A professional camera was hanging around his neck, which really wasn't giving his aching back any slack at all.

"Hey, hey, look who it is!" Yong Soo beamed at Ian and Natalie and stretched his arms out wide as a sign of welcome. "How are you two?"

The Kabras gave him skeptical looks. "Do we...know you?"

Just then, Lee bonked Yong Soo hard on the head.

"OW! What was that for?"

"_Báichī_," Lee swore. "Idiot. Don't you blow our cover. And stop acting like you're happy to see them. They put some serious hurt on your mountains, remember?"

"Ah, yeah." Yong Soo regained his composure, but was still massaging the new bump on his head. "But really, I'm happy to see them."

Lee glared at his brother, then merely shook his head and sighed heavily. "Your strange thoughts completely elude my careful comprehension."

"Come again?"

"Yong Soo!"

Another hit. This time, Mei did it.

"Focus on the kids for a while, will ya?"

"Okay, okay! Geez!"

Yong Soo straightened his tie, brushed himself off, and slicked his dark hair back. He spoke in the most professional way he could, like how he presents himself to the board of the company.

"Ian and Natalie Kabra, I am Im Yong Soo." He briefly bowed to them, then he came back up with a sneaky sneer. "I am the head of this music company, which you will be working in for the next eight days."

* * *

><p><strong>[ Author's Note ] <strong>Simple recall: Mei = Taiwan, Lee = Hong Kong.

MY GOD. How long has it been? I don't know...four, maybe five months? I'm really sorry if I let the story hang, but here it is! The latest chapter!

Oh, if anyone notices the little cameos of certain KPOP stars I included in this chapter. And to those who can guess the music company where the bunch is at gets a free cookie~!

Now if you excuse me, I have to go and kill myself then make up my mind about it.


End file.
